Little Brother
by hyper active pixie
Summary: Sequel to 'Little One'. Harry and Draco have reached age eleven, and are finally off to Hogwarts...house placement, new friends, new enemies, and old enemies...what could possibly go wrong?  NOT Harry/Draco slash, hence the title dear readers...
1. Off to Hogwarts

**Hello again! This is the second of my 'Little One' series. If you have not read 'Little One' this story will make little to no sense to you. Just a warning. Now, on with my tale!**

**Harry POV**

"Have fun, check in with Severus after the welcoming feast, even if you aren't in Slytherin you hear? And do try to be careful-" Draco tried to bat his mother's hands away as she fussed over the two of us. Lucius rolled his eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"They'll be fine love. Once they are sorted-"

"Owl us which house you are sorted into! Remember, it doesn't matter to us which house you get, we will be proud of both of you not matter what, even if you are in Hufflepuff, who knows, it might be a nice house- " Draco and Lucius both looked horrified by this.

"Narcissa, they need to go." Lucius said when she opened her mouth to continue. She nodded and hugged us both tightly before tearfully stepping back. Lucius wrapped an arm around each of us and whispered "Make your escape before the tears come."

"Come on Harry!" Draco exclaimed as he dragged me towards the train as fast as he could, ignoring all of the reminders his mother was calling after us. "We need to get a good compartment! Gred and Forge already got our trunks on board, good work remembering to lock the trunks; we would have some nasty surprises waiting for us tonight if you hadn't remembered that…"

I followed my older brother silently, smiling as I looked upon the Hogwarts Express. Dad had sneered about how it was nothing special, just like 'any other blasted train', but I thought it was magnificent.

"Here we are!" Draco pulled me into one of the compartments in the second car, flopping down onto the seat on the right side. I sat across from him, looking at him in amusement.

"And here I was, under the impression that Malfoys were far more dignified that the rest of us lowly life forms." I teased.

"Oh quiet you; I may sit how I like." Draco said, smirking smugly as he kicked his feet up onto the seat to prove his point. "And no one will tell me differently!"

"Budge over." George said as he and Fred barged in, shoving Draco's feet off the seat and plopping down on either side of him. "Aww, our little Blondie and Squirt, all grown up and going to Hogwarts!"

"I'm not ready for them to grow up Forge!" Fred wailed.

"Nor am I Gred!" George cried back before they both threw up their arms up in the air and then collapsed into hugging Draco, fake sobbing on his shoulders while the blonde glared at them in annoyance.

"Don't you two have friends?" he sneered, trying to shake off the twins unsuccessfully.

"Of course, Lee will be looking for us." Said Fred, the two simultaneously standing up.

"Don't think-"

"-that if you don't make-"

"-it into the lion's den-"

"-we won't-"

"-still check up on you!"

"Good luck-"

"-at the sorting!"

And with that, they were gone. Draco rolled his eyes and closed the compartment door after them, muttering under his breath about the twins being unnatural, just as he always did when the twins spoke together.

"What house do you think we will make?" I asked, knowing that this would get Draco talking again.

"If I get Hufflepuff I am just going home, it's not worth the humiliation. If you get Hufflepuff I will cry and then never acknowledge what house you are in, ever. My little brother, in Hufflepuff? The horror!" Draco instantly began, not noticing when I sat back and just smiled at him as he ranted. "Ravenclaw would be alright, I suppose. Won't be surprised if you get in Ravenclaw, with how much time you spend with your nose in a book…"

"Reading is fun!" I protested. Draco responded by raising one pale eyebrow.

"Do you hear yourself?" I rolled my eyes.

"You like reading and you know it Draco." I snorted.

"And you'll never hear me admit it, especially never referring to it as 'fun'." My older brother snorted. "Which is why I won't end up in Ravenclaw. As for Gryffindor, I would rather die than be in a house with such obnoxious colors."

"You just don't want to be with the twins."

"Yes, well, the colors are also obnoxious. You can be in Gryffindor all you want, I'll pass thank you very much. Now Slytherin… that's where I hope we are sorted. Also Blaise and Pansy will be in Slytherin, the five of us would have a wonderful time together. Now, there's also no guarantee that we-" he gestured to the two of us. "-will be in the same house. So we will need to use the passages on that weird map the twins showed us."

I nodded, giving Draco a smile while inside I was beginning to panic a bit. If Draco and I weren't in the same house, and I wasn't in Gryffindor…then I would be alone.

"Hey, calm down, you're going to get yourself all worked up over nothing." Draco snorted, ruffling my hair. I batted his hands away, scowling at him while he snickered.

"Dray, what was that for?" I complained, trying to smooth down my hair. "It never stays down anyway! If I did that to your hair, you would murder me."

"This is correct." Draco said, smirking at me. Before I could make a leap for him to mess up his hair, our compartment door opened.

"Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one." a girl with bushy brown hair asked, looking between us expectantly.

"No, sorry, we haven't." Draco replied. I shook my head in agreement. "Who buys a toad as a pet? Disgusting creatures…" the girl rolled her eyes at Draco's comment.

"Well, if you see one, could you bring it to compartment four in car three? That's where Neville is."

"You think I would pick up a toad? And get warts? You're clearly insane." Draco said his upper lip curling in disgust. The girl's eyes narrowed and she seemed to puff up, so I decided that Draco wouldn't be the one to finish the talking. Before she could do more than open her mouth, I broke in.

"If we see one, we will bring it by." I promised quietly, smiling at her softly. The girls gaze turned to me, and she studied me for a second before she smiled back.

"Thank you…?"

"Harry Potter. This is my older brother Draco Malfoy." I said.

"But your surname is Potter and his is Malfoy, and you're both first years…how is he your older brother?" she asked, looking between us. "And you look nothing alike."

This was true. I was just under four feet tall, while Draco was already nearly four and a half. My hair is pitch black and messy, while his is almost white and always perfect. His eyes are silver, mine a weirdly bright green. My skin is tan, while his is extremely pale, and I still weigh a good twenty pounds less than Draco.

"He is my God brother." Draco said coldly, sneering at the girl.

"Wizards have God parents to?" she exclaimed excitedly.

"We are magical, not a different species." Draco sneered, obviously reaching the end of his tolerance for the girl.

"I know that." She snapped. "My name is Hermione Granger." This seemed more directed at me than at Draco.

"How would you know that? Your obviously muggle born. For all you know, all of us pure blood and half-blood wizards could have two hearts, or six toes a foot, or we could have gills, or grow to be over seven feet tall. You'd have no way of knowing, so don't take such a tone with me." Draco hissed, ignoring Hermione's introduction.

She gaped at Draco a second before huffing and stalking out of the compartment, but I saw the flash of pain in her eyes before she turned to leave. The door slammed shut behind her, and Draco sat back, smirking.

"That was mean Draco." I said, frowning at my older brother.

"She was being irritating." Draco snorted, waving off my concerns. "Common, we should get changed, we'll be there soon."

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

My eyes searched the head table as Professor McGonagall led all of us first years through the Great Hall. Finally I spotted my dad, sitting at the far left side of the table, eyes glued on Draco and me. I beamed at him and waved, and he nodded in return.

"Harry, look, its Remus!" Draco whispered excitedly, pointing to the far right side of the head table. I followed his gaze and sure enough, Remus was sitting there giving us a small smile and a little wave. "What do you think he is teaching?"

"Percy said that he replaced Professor Bins, ghost only realized he was dead over the summer." Ron Weasley whispered to us before going back to his conversation with the Irish boy next to him.

"Wonder why he and Dad aren't sitting next to each other…" I commented, looking between the two adults.

"Dumbledore." Draco sneered. "I'll bet he put them as far away from each other as he possibly could. He didn't even want to hire them back, but he didn't have much choice did he? Not with the school board all congratulating Uncle Sev on the job when we turned ten, a year before he was actually coming back to teach."

"I suppose…" I trailed off as Professor McGonagall moved to stand next to the stool with the sorting hat on it, staring down at all of us with pursed lips. The entire hall fell silent almost instantly, and she cleared her throat as the last of the noise died down.

"Abbot, Hannah." A small girl scurried up to the stool and sat down shakily, eyes flicking all around the room before they were covered by the sorting hat covering her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat yelled out.

"No surprise there, the girl looked ready to pee herself." Draco muttered to me. I slapped my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't laugh, and elbowed him in the side. "Ow! You know it's true Potter, don't try to silence me!"

Draco and I bickered quietly until I heard Professor McGonagall call out "Ganger, Hermione." I shushed Draco, wanting to hear where the girl went. The hat sat on her heads for a few moments, longer than anyone else who had gone at this point, before calling out "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Well that's a surprise." Draco said to me as the table next to us erupted in cheers. "Thought she would have been a Ravenclaw, she is more than snotty enough to be in the book worm house…"

"Be nice!" I scolded.

"Yes mother." Draco said mockingly.

Professor McGonagall went down the list, and Draco would comment on nearly every sorting. 'So many Hufflepuffs this year, far more than there should be.' 'Greengrass got Slytherin? How? That girl hasn't got anything between her ears, much less a brain!' 'Longbottom got Gryffindor? He looks ready to be sick!'

"Malfoy, Draco!" Draco grinned.

"Wish me luck little brother!" he whispered before straightening and strutting up to the stool and sitting down, head held high.

The hat had hardly touched his head when it yelled out "SLYTHERIN!" Draco smirked, but his eyes were nearly glowing when they met mine. Slytherin how was clapping, while the twins were standing on top of their chairs whooping loudly to the confusion of the other houses.

"Yeah Blondie!"

"We knew you would get in the snake pit!"

Draco ignored them and walked towards the Slytherin table, sitting down next to Gregory Goyle instead of Daphne Greengrass, who looked disappointed.

"Parkinson, Pansy." I grinned at Pansy as she passed to me go up to the stool, and she gave me a little wave and smile before leaving the crowd and walking up towards the hat. When the hat was placed on her head, she jumped a bit then relaxed, though her knuckles were still white where she was gripping the stool.

"SLYTHERIN!" Pansy grinned and handed the hat back to Professor McGonagall before nearly running over to Draco, who had moved over a seat so that there were two seats free next to him. She sat down between him and Goyle, sitting as far away from Goyle as she possibly could without sitting on Draco.

"Potter, Harry."

My heart nearly stopped as my name was called.

This was it.

**CHAPTER ONE DONE! Thoughts? **


	2. Separate Ends of the Table

**Ooooooooh, what house am I going to put Harry in? You all know me; I am the kind of person who might put him in Hufflepuff (HA! Except not. Hufflepuffs SUCK. Um…no offence….Hazel…sorry…) but if you guessed and were about what house…don't review with a 'YOU AGREED WITH ME!' There was a 33.3 (repeating technically…)% chance that you were right. :D Anyway, here goes!**

**Also, someone reviewed about how it didn't make sense for Harry to go to Hogwarts because Dumbledore was there and how he and Severus should just be on the run and goes to a different school in another country…problem with this? I would have no story line after Severus got out of Azkaban. So. XD **

**Harry POV**

Everyone in the hall was muttering. 'Harry Potter is here? The Harry Potter?' 'I thought he was coming next year!' 'I don't believe this! Harry Potter, here!' I walked up to the stool with my head down, wishing they did this in some kind of private room before the welcome feast.

I sat down and saw every pair of eyes on me before the hat slipped over my eyes, hiding them all from view. I relaxed a bit, glad of my small size for once. If I could see all those people, I would be panicking by now.

"Hello Mr. Potter. I've been waiting to see you. No jump I see. Your father must have told you about me then." Could it see that Dad had told me when I had a panic attack about not being able to pass whatever test it was to get into Hogwarts? "I can see everything young Mr. Potter."

"Oh." I responded. "Well? What house?"

"You're a complicated one Mr. Potter. You've haven't had an easy life, no thanks to the headmaster. Hufflepuff isn't for you, no…Ravenclaw if a possibility, you do love books, you're intelligent, you have a quick wit…with you spending all your time with Severus Snape and Malfoys that's no surprise. But it's not a perfect fit. You are brave, strong, you have courage, aren't one to back down from something you really believe in, good traits of Gryffindor…your also intelligent beyond just book smarts, you can think tactically, excellent survival skills from the darker times of your life, very Slytherin…really it could go either way."

"Either Slytherin or Gryffindor?" I asked, trying to make sense of the hats rambling.

"Yes, I would think so. Now where to put you…" I relaxed. Either house would be fine with me, if I went to Gryffindor I would have the twins, but if I went to Slytherin I would have Draco… "The Headmaster has been insisting that I place you in Gryffindor for days now Potter, but the old fool should know by now that I don't take anything he says into consideration. As if his power is greater than any of the founders, let alone all four, they placed the spells on me as you know. Good mind you have here. Your father, he wants you to be in Slytherin, to keep an eye on you I suppose, and the werewolf couldn't care less. Now if the Headmaster would stop trying to cast hexes to muddle my decision, I could make one! I'm going to have to go with…SLYTHERIN!" I jumped as the hat yelled my house's name out loud, a definite change from the soft muttering in my mind. The crowd reappeared as the hat was taken off my head, and I was met with a sea of shocked faces.

"SLTHER AWAY TO THE SNAKE PIT SQUIRT!" Fred yelled, jumping up along with George. I blushed as all eyes went to the twins.

"WE SHALL MISS YOU HERE IN THE LIONS DEN!" George called dramatically, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. I ducked my head and quickly made my way to the cheering Slytherin table, sliding into the seat next to Draco, who was beaming.

"The twins will never change." Draco commented, gesturing with his head to the two red heads, who were now loudly fake sobbing on each other's shoulders. Pansy snorted and nodded, rolling her eyes and leaning on the table so she could see Harry as well.

"They distracted everyone long enough for me to sit down without being stared down." I pointed out quietly. Draco and Pansy blinked at me for a second, and then their mouths dropped opened.

"Merlin, the Weasley twins are secretly Slytherins." Pansy said in disbelief. "Didn't see that one coming…"

"Speak for yourself." Blaise snorted as he sat down across from us, Theodore Nott sliding down to sit next to Blaise. "I was shocked when they got Gryffindors. Those two are no ordinary Weasleys; they are far too…sneaky."

"Nice to see you as well Blaise." Pansy said dryly, pursing her lips at Blaise, who grinned.

"I am nice to look at aren't I?" Blaise quipped. Theo and I covered our mouths with our hands to stifle our laughed, while Draco snickered out right. Pansy scowled.

"Not really." She sneered.

"Ouch." Snickered Draco.

I smiled as Blaise and Pansy began to go back and forth with insults and retorts.

"You need to eat more Harry." Draco said disapprovingly when I only put some chicken and asparagus on my plate. Pansy looked at my plate, distracted from her argument with Blaise as she saw what was on it.

"Harry Potter, you will get no meat on your bones eating like that!" she snapped, shoving a bowl of mashed potatoes into my hands. "Feed yourself properly or I will sit next to you during every meal and fill your plate for you!" the other three boys' snickered while I quickly took the bowl, knowing that she would do just that.

"Ever the mother hippogriff." Draco whispered. Pansy's eyes narrowed as her keen hearing picked up Draco's comment.

"And you three!" Theo, Blaise, and Draco instantly fell silent. "Blaise, elbows off the table and chew with your mouth closed! Theo, you need something other than potatoes and meat for dinner, you can't run off of carbs and protein alone! Draco, straighten up, what would your mother say? And for Merlin's sake, if you even think about touching that treacle tart before you have cleared your plate of real food so help me I will…" she trailed off, crossing her arms over her chest. The other three instantly did as she said, looking down at their plates intently and refusing to make eye contact with Pansy, who continued staring all of them down.

Mother hippogriff indeed.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

**Severus POV**

"Albus honestly thinks that putting us on opposite ends of the staff table will stop us from talking?" Remus asked as he fell into step next to me on my way to the dungeons. "Our rooms are only two corridors from each other, I can come see you whenever I like."

"Yes, well, if things had gone the Headmaster's way everything about our lives would be very different." I replied, glaring at a Hufflepuff perfect that hurried past us, cheeks flushed and hair mused. If I found her companion, I was taking points massive amounts of house points.

"I like our way of life just fine." Remus snorted.

"You get to see most of your pack every day, and you're healthy enough of a werewolf that full moons don't hurt you even half as much as they use to. Of course you like our life style." I commented, taking a sharp turn down a corridor that was nearly hidden from view, the tapestries on either side making it surprisingly easy to miss. Remus swerved to stay next to me, looking at the hall in interest.

"What is this?" he inquired.

"A shortcut. The castle is full of them, how else would I get around so fast?" I asked, quirking a brow at the werewolf.

"I've heard some pretty outlandish theories from old students of yours." Remus snickered. "I know most of the secret passage ways in the castle, but I have never seen this one before."

"You know some of the secret passage ways. I know all of them." I said smugly, glancing sideways at Remus. "Your gang back in school would have caught me quite a bit more often if I didn't have this superior knowledge."

"That's where you always went!" Remus exclaimed "We just thought you were fast!"

"I am fast. Being that fast is nearly impossible. To turn a corner and managed to make it fifty feet to the next corner in the four seconds it took for you lot to round the corner? I'm surprised none of you caught on. Especially with that map you had…"

"You know about the Maurder's map?"

"Yes. Currently it is in the Weasley twins' possession, I allowed them to keep it when they promised no pranks on my Slytherins…"

"Where did they even find it?"

"Merlin knows Remus with those two, Merlin knows…" I muttered, stopping shortly at a portrait. "You best go through here; this is the hall where your rooms are located."

"Where are you going?" asked Remus, raising his eyebrows. "Your rooms are past mine, and not in the direction that this tunnel seems to be going in."

"Has it slipped your mind, Remus, that I am a head of house?" I inquired, raising my own eyebrow. "I have a duty to my students Remus, as well as the rest of the students of Hogwarts. Tonight is the night I take care of my snake though, and that is where I am going. Does this inconvenience you in any way?" the last part was sneered sarcastically, and Remus rolled his eyes, obviously use to my comments.

"It slipped my mind, no need to be rude." The werewolf huffed before stepping out into the corridor. I snorted turning and continuing my way to the Slytherin common room. It wouldn't do to be much later arriving than Flint.

**Harry POV**

"This is the entrance to the Slytherin common room!" Marcus Flint gestured to the blank wall behind us. "The rest of Slytherin has already made it here. I know the dungeon halls all look the same when you get all the way back here, but if you look to the walls there are carvings of snakes with their heads pointing in the direction of the dorm entrance. As you can see, there are two here, one facing left and the other right." He touched his hand to both of the snakes carved into the stone walls to bring our attention to them.

"But…how to we get in? There is no door." One of Daphne's friends, Millicent I think, spoke up. I had to admit I was wondering the same thing, but Draco rolled his eyes like it was the stupidest question he had ever heard. Marcus looked like he was hardly holding back his annoyance.

"When you say the password, the doorway will appear." He turned back to the wall. "Subdola serpens."

True to his word, the stone wall seemed to melt away, revealing a hall way that was lit by a lot of candles. My eyes widened, and I saw Draco's mouth fall open a bit, even though he would never admit it.

"Subdola serpens is the current password. The password to the Slytherin dorms will always be in Latin, as the language has many magical properties. The door opens faster and is much less noticeable to wandering eyes if the password is in Latin. Follow me."

Marcus led us down the hall and into a huge room, with multiple fire places, stair ways leading out of the room, and a plethora of couches, chairs, tables, blankets, pillows, and plush rugs. There were quite a few people already milling around. Marcus ushered us all into the center of the room before he began to speak again.

"Professor Snape should be here momentarily-" Marcus started, but in that exact moment Dad burst into the room through a painting I had paid no attention to, making everyone in the room except Marcus and a few of the older students jump.

He robes billowed around him as he came to a halt next to Marcus, narrowed eyes traveling over everyone in the room. The older years all wore huge smiles, and Marcus Flint smirked at my Dad before nodding to him respectfully.

"It's wonderful to have you back sir. Professor Sinistra is nice enough, but she's not you." He said, murmurs of agreement coming from the other seventh and sixth year students. "We did the best we could while you were gone."

"I am back for good." Dad said firmly. "Now down to business. My office is through this portrait." He gestured to the painting he had just entered through. "You may come in no matter the time, and if I am not in my office the painting of Salazar Slytherin in the entrance to my personal sitting rooms, tell Master Slytherin to fetch me and I will come. Our first order of business; every student here will be medically examined by myself. This is not optional. I am more than aware of the pride of Slytherin house; I also know where some of us get our survival skills from." He looked around the room, some people dropping his gaze. "We have a bad reputation among the other houses, this you all know. That is why I request that outside of these dorms, Slytherin hold a united front. While you may gain friends of the other houses, many will scorn you simply for being in Slytherin house. You will all need to stick together to overcome this. Outside of these walls, no problems between you exist. Fight and hate each other all you please, I could care less about your childish little drama's you will undoubtedly have with one another. But unless you are here in this very room, put them behind you. That is not permission to become violent with one another. If I hear of that happening, there will be extreme consequences."

The older years looked ready to flinch while the younger years looked unconcerned. My father's eyes narrowed when he saw this.

"While I do not, as you have heard, take points or give out detentions to my Slytherins during class or in the halls, this does not mean that you will be punished. I believe that all of you have the sense to behave yourselves. I will never take house points, as I know house points are unfairly taken from Slytherin house every day. But if you do something that would be worthy of loss of house points, I will be punishing you in detention. These detentions include organizing my potion stores, scrubbing my lab floor, cleaning cauldrons, writing lines, or I may just revoke your desert privileges or move you to the kitchen to consume your meals alone. It depends on who you are. I've never had to give out many of my detentions to my Slytherins, do not disappoint me."

Power radiated off of my father as he looked down at his students, his features softening just a bit when he got murmurs of agreement from nearly everyone in the room.

"I'm pleased to hear it. Now, it is a…tradition of sorts for me to medically evaluate my students when they first arrive to school, and after every holiday that they return home. Tonight years four threw seven will be receiving their checkups. If you are in a younger year but know that you require medical attention, come and speak with me. These evaluations are mandatory; there is no option of opting out. Older students remain here, younger years I would advise that you turn in for the night, get your rooms organized and ready yourselves for tomorrow. Mr. Flint, if you could lead the first years to their dorms?"

Marcus nodded, gesturing our group to follow him up the first set of stairs. We reached a landing with three doors, and he turned back to face us.

"As there are nine of you, you may go three to a dorm-" the older student gave Theo, Blaise, Draco and I an amused look when the four of us gave Crabbe and Goyle horrified looks, not that the two noticed. "-the most you can have in a room is four. Obviously, no mixing genders."

"I hate you guys." Pansy hissed, glaring at us before sending a tight smile to Millicent and Daphne, who sneered at her. "Hate."

"Don't worry Pansy; all you have to do is sleep there." Blaise said.

"And listen to those two giggle all night over Merlin knows what? Spare me." The black haired girl muttered, glaring at the floor as the four of us backed towards the door behind us. She turned on her heel and stomped into the girls' room that Daphne and Millicent had chosen, slamming the door shut behind her.

"We are going to hear about that all seven years we are here aren't we?" Theo asked miserably.

"Most likely." Draco sighed. "Come on; let's get into the room before she comes back out."

**So, what do you guys think? I didn't put him in Gryffindor, because Harry is not as outgoing as he was in the original series. When he's in classes you will all notice that he hardly talks to anyone that isn't a friend of his, and that he does in fact get picked on because he is in Slytherin and because he is so small. Not a push over though; but when he stands up to people, he nearly always instantly has Blaise and Draco behind him to reinforce. Its…hard to explain. Whatever. I HAVE REASONS. :D **


	3. No One Else Can Stomach It

**On to Chapter 3 with our adorable little first years! Anyone who is worried about me bashing Hermione; don't. That's all I'm gonna say. :D Enjoy!**

**Severus POV**

I pinched the bridge of my nose, leaning back in my chair for the first time since I had opened my office door to my students.

"Alright?" I looked up, seeing Remus standing in my doorway, arms crossed.

"No." I growled, rubbing my face. "There's a lot more this year Remus. More than there has ever been at one time. I understand that I now have many children with extreme Death Eater parents, but this is ridiculous!" my magic was beginning to crackle around me, and I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. "I hate this."

"How many?" the werewolf asked, sitting down in the chair a seventh year student had just vacated.

"What time is it?" I asked instead.

"Nearly two in the morning. It's close to the full moon, I was restless. Saw the light under your door, figured I would come and see what was keeping you up." Remus replied. "Now; how many?"

"You are not as easily side tracked as other Gryffindorks." I muttered before sighing. "Twelve so far and I have only done through the fourth years. And that's Slytherin alone! Normally I have hardly more than that in the school, but this year…" I shook my head. "Three of them are very heavily abused. Not to Harry's extent, but fairly close."

"How do people do this to their children?" Remus asked a look of disgust obvious on his face.

"I'll never know." I growled, standing up and motioning for Remus to follow me. "Come, you can help me carry potions to my office to replenish the stores I used up tonight. If I use magic to transport them, they contents of the potion could be altered. The last thing these students need is more problems…" Remus nodded and stood up, but before we could move to my store room there was a knock on my office door. Grabbing Remus by the back of his robes I shoved him into the supply closet before falling back into my seat.

"Come in." I called. Marcus Flint entered his hand on the shoulder of a smaller girl with brown hair and eyes. I didn't recognize her from the sorting, which meant that she was a second year student. I leaned onto my desk, folding my hands in front of me.

"What can I do for you?" I looked to Marcus when the girl simple shrunk back into the older students' robes.

"Samantha's arm is hurting her." Marcus said, moving closer to me so that the girl would also have to be closer.

"Samantha…?"

"Samantha Brumsey. Second year." Marcus filled in. I stood up, slowing my movements down when the girl flinched into Marcus's side as I got to my feet.

"Which arm is it Samantha?" I asked, pulling my wand from my sleeve, making sure she could see it.

"Her left arm." Marcus told me when the girl still said nothing.

"Can you move it at all?" I asked, moving to my knees in front of the girl, keeping my voice as soft as possible. She looked at me, eyes wide, before giving her head a single shake.

"Not really sir." She said, sounding like it was nearly painful to force the words out.

"Is there anything else wrong?" I asked. She shook her head. "Alright. I am going to cast a spell on your arm that will assess the damage."

Samantha gasped as her arm glowed blue. I narrowed my eyes, looking at the fluctuating colors around her arm.

"Not broken, just extremely bruised…" I muttered to myself, walking to my desk and pulling out a jar. "If you could pull up your sleeve Samantha?" after an encouraging look from Marcus, the young girl pulled up her sleeve.

I was ready for the large hand shaped bruises, but a jolt of anger ran through me at the sight of the angry purple and black marks upon the girls pale skin anyways. I didn't let it show, just knelt back down beside her and opened the jar.

"This is an enhanced salve for bruises; it works faster than the others. Come into my office and put this on your arm every night. If I am not in, let yourself in or have one of the older students come with you. I will leave it in the bottom drawer of this cabinet." I gestured with one hand to the cabinet and then gently began to rub the salve on the poor girls arm. As would be expected, she flinched back, but when Marcus put a hand on her shoulder she relaxed a bit and allowed me to spread the healing mixture onto her bruises.

When I had finished, I wordlessly placed the jar into the drawer I had indicted towards earlier and retook my seat behind my desk.

"See, that wasn't bad at all." I heard Marcus telling the girl.

"Thank you." Samantha said to me after nodding at Marcus. I inclined my head to her and then to Marcus, who did the same in response. Just before Marcus had led her out, however, the young second year girl turned back to me, looking fearful but determined.

"Sir…my older brother…" she paused and I nodded, knowing what she was trying to say. "Could he come here for some help to sir…even if he is a Gryffindor?"

"No one will be turned away Miss Brumsey. My door is always open to those who need it." I replied firmly. The child gave me a satisfied nod, and then allowed herself to be led out of the room. As soon as the door shut I slumped in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"How do you deal with this every day?" Remus asked, reemerging from where I had shoved him.

"Someone has to, and not everyone can." I snapped, pushing myself back up to put my elbows on the desk with my pointer and middle fingers holding my head up at the temples. "I had forgotten just how despicable people in this world are."

"Lucius is trying to get them help with the school board isn't he?" Remus asked sitting in the chair terrified students normally occupied on the other side of my desk.

"Yes, but he has been doing so for the past three years." I growled. "The board is not willing to admit Dumbledore at fault currently, and it is impossible for them to fathom what really happens to these children at home. So, as always, the children will suffer because of the idiocy of the adults."

"But you do a lot for them." Remus said. "That's better than nothing, right?"

"I can keep them here over holidays, sometimes even when their parents request them home. I used the excuse of potions tutorage often. But once the summer holidays return…there is nothing I can do until September." Hopelessness clawed at my stomach and I growled, wanting nothing more than to take every board member to the homes of the children they refused to help. "I'd like nothing more than to polyjuice those fools as the children they believe to be exaggerating, see how they handle what all of them go through."

Remus was silent for a moment, a dark expression on his face. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and gave me a tight smile.

"I'll help you move those potions now before I head off to bed, yeah?" he asked quietly, standing back up.

"I would appreciate it." I replied, also standing up.

"Something tells me this is going to be a very long year." Remus muttered as he followed me to the store room. Silently…I couldn't agree more.

**SORRY FOR THE WAIT! That's why this chapters short, I just haven't had the time! REVIEW!**


	4. First Day of Classes

**I am so so so so so so sooooooo sorry for the ridiculous wait I have put you all threw. I got sick, quarter ending, sick AGAIN (wtf is with THAT?) getting home at 9 every night, scrambling to get homework done, passing out at about 2AM with most of homework done, finishing it during lunch… ridiculous. BUT I am working on this now, I get home at 6 now so it should go quicker…in theory. We'll see.**

**Harry POV**

"First day of classes." Draco sighed as we walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. "I'm already wishing for the weekend…"

"I'm excited for classes!" Theo said, smiling cheerfully. "And better yet, potions class is today! Think of all the cool things that we are going to-"

"Why are you a nerd Theo?" Blaise groaned, cutting off the other boy. "Why can't you hate school like the rest of us normal people?"

"Who would help you 'normal' idiots with the notes you 'forgot' to take when doing homework assignments? Without me, and Harry of course, all of your grades would be doomed." Theo snorted. "Maybe Harry and I won't help you 'normal people' with your school work this year. Isn't that right Harry?"

"No, because Harry isn't mean like you Theo." Draco snorted, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close with a grin. "Would you Har?"

"Maybe I should." I said quietly, grinning at the horrified looks Draco and Blaise where giving me. "Then Theo and I could work ahead like we want to."

"Theodore, you have turned my little brother against me!" Draco complained, pouting at me. "We might have to rely on PANSY for our notes, and we all know the only notes she will take will be when the Professor is cute."

"Excuse me?" Pansy exclaimed shrilly. "That is not true Draco Malfoy; you take that back right now! As if I would share my notes with you!"

"You could always take your own notes." Theo snorted as we entered the Great Hall, moving towards the Slytherin table. "Also, our first class today is potions. Dibs on Harry as my partner!" I blushed, and the rest of my friends groaned at this.

"Not cool Theo." Draco grumbled, flopping down in a seat next to the one I had taken, a smirking Theo on my other side with Pansy and Blaise across from us.

"You have had all of the same training as I have had Draco." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but you paid attention." Draco countered.

"Both of you shut up and eat." Pansy snapped "We have to leave soon, and none of you are attending the first day of class on an empty stomach!"

"Yes mother." Draco and Blaise said simultaneously, rolling their eyes.

"Someone has to do it, as you dunder heads can't seem to take care of yourselves." Pansy shot back, smirking when both boys scowled at their plates in response.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

"The Gryffindors beat us here! To the dungeons, our own territory! How embarrassing…" Pansy grumbled as the Slytherins entered the potions classroom. As I expected, Dad wasn't there yet. He would burst in the moment class was scheduled to start, and anyone who arrived after him lost house points unless they were Slytherins. Bill had told me all about his ritual for beginning his classes.

Draco and Theo both took a seat in the middle of the Slytherin half of the room and looked at me expectantly, Pansy and Blaise standing right beside me ready to race for the seat that I didn't take. I glanced over at the Gryffindor side.

All the Gryffindors except for the girl with bushy hair that Draco had been rude to on the train where paired off, while she sat at the front table alone. The two girls behind her were looking at her while whispering and giggling, and the girls tense shoulders showed that she could hear exactly what her two house mates were saying about her.

Making up my mind I turned back to my friends who were looking at me in annoyance.

"All yours Pansy, Blaise." I said softly while gesturing to the two seats next to Theo and Draco, trying to speak up so they could all hear me. The four gave me confused looks as I lifted my bag higher on my shoulder and made my way over to the lone Gryffindor girl, sliding into the seat next to her.

She jumped slightly as I dropped my bag to the ground, and then just stared at me with wide eyes. I frowned when I saw her eyes were a bit red, but smiled softly when she squared her shoulders and looked at me questioningly.

"I'm sorry, I should have asked, is this seat taken?" I asked, trying to speak up. I found that while my friends where all use to the way I spoke and knew to listen for it, new people found it annoying when they had to strain to hear me.

"No, it's not." She replied slowly, looking at me with slightly narrowed eyes.

"May I sit here then?" I asked, getting the feeling that this might not have been my best idea. But as I thought that the girl seemed to relax a bit, nodding. "Thanks. I'm sorry, I know you told me on the train, but I've forgotten. What's your name?"

"Hermione Granger." She replied, sticking out her hand. "Harry Potter right?" I nodded, and she opened her mouth to say something else, but Dad chose that exact moment to burst in the door. The entire class excluding Draco and I jumped. Draco and I were far to use to Dads entrances to jump anymore.

The classroom was dead silent as Dad made his way to the front of the classroom, robes billowing around him as he turned on his heel to glare out at the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began, black eyes narrowed as they scanned the classroom. Many of my classmates shuddered. If anything the fear of my classmates seemed to place my father as he continued. "I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Draco snickered at this, and was quickly silenced by Pansy hissing at him from behind.

"Now. Today, you will be expected to brew the potion in chapter one, as I expect my students to read ahead. I trust all of you have done so?" no one dared to raise their hands, although most of the Gryffindors where staring at my father with eyes wider than I thought physically possible. The glint in my father's eye told me that he knew this as well. "Very well. Begin."

"Did you read?" Hermione asked me, sounding like she expected me to say no and was already resigning to doing the project herself. I frowned, raising an eyebrow at her attitude.

"Yes. I've also got one better- I'm done this potion before. The cure for boils, fairly simple, not many ingredients…" I trailed off at the excited look on the girls face. "What?"

"Oh, I'm just use to being the only one that reads ahead, and then everyone tries to cheat off of me." She said, grinning at me. "It's nice to have a partner that knows as much as I do, possibly more." She spoke fast, pulling out her book as she spoke and flipping it open to the correct page. I didn't reach for my book, but didn't have the heart to tell her I knew every step of this potion by heart, word for word. Even the twins could recite this potion by heart, having been to enough dinners at my home that included pop potion quizzes.

"I'll just get the ingredients, you can heat up the caldron, alright?" the Gryffindor nodded, already turned away from me and fiddling with the small cauldron at our table. I stood up and walked up to the store room. No one else was there yet, as they were still reading the ingredient lists and Draco would be arguing with Blaise on who was going to have to get up to go to the store room.

As I walked back to my table with my arms full of ingredients, my father gave me a barely noticeable nod of approval before glaring at the rest of the class in annoyance. I grinned the rest of the way back to my work station, where Hermione was looking antsy.

"Good, your back." She said in a rush. "So we need to start with-"

"With you calming down." I cut in. That was one of Dad's first rules in the potions lab. If you weren't calm, your hands could start shaking and you could miss steps because your thoughts can run away with you. "You're stressing yourself out. I've done this before, and you're obviously intelligent, we shouldn't have any problems."

"How do you know that you did your potion _right_ when you attempted it?" Hermione demanded, drumming her fingers on the table as she spoke. I set our ingredients down and took my place next to her.

"Considering that he-" I gestured to Dad who sat at the head of the classroom, narrowed eyes sweeping the classroom for mistakes. "-is my father, I think it is safe to say that I made my potion correctly."

"Professor Snape is your Dad?" Hermione asked, looking between the two of us in surprise.

"He adopted me when I was young. Now we better get started, everyone else already has the first step done." The girl immediately began to panic, and I sighed. "Calm down or we are going to end up with something toxic rather than the cure for boils."

"Right, sorry." She muttered, taking a deep breath. "What does the book say to do first?"

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

"Another class with the Gryffindors. Defense against the dark are no less! Dumbledore knows that we don't get along, why our half our classes with them?" Blaise complained loudly.

"Gryffindors aren't so bad." I argued, frowning at my Italian friend.

"Yes they are." Pansy snorted. "You've heard them in the halls. Kimberly, a second year girl who was talking to me this morning, says that DADA is worst when you have it with the Gryffindors. She said to be ready for a lot of remarks about how Slytherins shouldn't take the class because they are the reason the class was put on curriculum. Because, of course, logically if you use the Dark Arts the hat puts you in Slytherin. There are no other requirements to being in the snake pit, unless being even counts." The bitter bite to Pansy's words made me wince.

"My mum won't let me outside without a cloak if she sees so much as a cloud. As if she would ever let me within a mile of anything Dark Arts related." Theo snorted.

"Magic isn't dark or light; it's how you use it." Draco said, chest puffing out.

"That's what my Dad has always said." I added, not willing to allow Draco to take the credit for the statement. Our friends gave my blond brother an amused look at his antics while he pouted at me for giving him away.

"Well, it's true. Intent is what really matters." Draco huffed.

"Also what my Dad says." I said, teasing Draco this time. The blonde growled and slung an arm around my shoulders, making me squeak.

"You're lucky I like you little brother. Otherwise, I would be hexing you into next week." Draco said, twirling his wand between his fingers and smirking down at me.

"As if, you don't know enough spells to do that." I shot back, leaning my head on his shoulder even as I did so.

"You're pushing your luck shorty."

"Always."

"Wipe that cheeky grin off you face."

"You're the one who taught me that cheeky grin!"

"Well it looks far better on me than it does on you."

"You are far too concerned with looks."

"Poor Harry, don't be jealous that I am so good looking."

"Next thing we know, you'll be stealing your mothers make-up…"

"What did you just say to me Potter?"

"Me? Nothing dear brother…"

"The two of you are exhausting!" Pansy complained, rubbing her temples.

"It's like watching two beaters bat a bludger back and forth." mused Blaise. "And somehow Draco always loses…"

"Oi! I do not lose! Ever!" Draco snapped, still not pushing me away. Instead he curled him are around me and brought me closer to him as we passed a group of Ravenclaws. I almost complained, it wasn't like I needed protecting, not against Ravenclaws in our year, but I knew that if I said anything Draco would just ignore me.

"Hate to break it to you Draco, but you just did. Big time." Theo snorted, grinning at me. "Harry one, Dray zero."

"Don't call me Dray!"

**Severus POV**

"Harry, I wasn't expecting you until later." I said, looking up from grading the pop quiz I gave my fifth years to see my son standing in the doorway. Setting down my quill, I waved him in.

Harry walked into the room, flopping comfortably into the chair in front of my desk with a sigh. I raised an eyebrow.

"Dare I ask how your first day of classes were?" I drawled.

"They were good. Only had classes with the Gryffindors today, they all seem already." Harry said softly. "There is so many people here though…"

"It will take some getting used to." I allowed. "Are the dorms alright?" my sons face lit up almost instantly.

"The dorms are great! Draco, Blaise, and Theo are in mine! It's like a sleep over party all of the time! Pansy has to share with the other girls, she isn't very happy about that, you can't really blame her Daphne Greengrass isn't very nice, I don't like her much-"

Sitting back in my chair, I nodded at all of the appropriate times as Harry chattered on about his day, the dorms, potions, defense, other houses, teachers, anything and everything that popped into his mind.

As he talked, I wondered briefly if Hogwarts was ready for my son, godson, and their friends. A smirk made its way on to my face. Hopefully Hogwarts was up to it, because the hooligans were storming the castle.

**So? REVIEW! DO IT! RIGHT THERE! BUTTON! Again, sorry for the wait…blah…. :P **


	5. Poor Cowardly Lion

**I'm a terrible person, I know, and I am sooooo sorry. School, lost my thumb drive (grrr), sister is getting surgery, excuses excuses excuses….anyway, you don't want to hear about all that, on with the chapter! **

**Harry POV**

"Harrrrrrrrry."

No." I muttered without looking up.

"Pleeeeeeease?"

"No." my quill didn't leave my paper as I put the finishing touches on my parchment.

"Why not?"

Finished. Smiling, I closed my charms book and placed it back in my bag, carefully rolling the parchment and placing it on the side of my book where it wouldn't get damaged.

"Draco, do your own essay!" Theo snapped as he slammed his own charms book shut. "If you and Blaise had paid attention instead of hexing each other's shoes different colors, you would have the material you need! Have fun going to the library."

"I think its punishment enough that neither of you will change our shoes back to black." Blaise muttered, trying to sneak a look at Theo's parchment. I looked on amused as Theo glared at the much bigger Italian boy and shoved his paper in his bag.

"Why should we? It's not our fault your shoes look like they were white before you wore them to a paint fight." Sniffed Theo.

"You could have finished it in the amount of time you spent begging Theo and I to let you copy ours." I pointed out to my older brother, who pouted.

"The entire point of that, Harry, was that I don't want to do the stupid essay." He complained.

"I'm sure Lucius will understand when you tell him exactly that when your grade report

has a 'T' in charms." I quipped. Theo snickered, and Draco's eyes widened.

"It would not be a 'T'!" he protested.

"Then you best get to work." I teased.

"Hate it when you talk like Uncle Sev." Draco muttered as Theo led me out of the room snickering.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

"Hello Hermione." I greeted quietly as I took my place next to the bushy haired Gryffindor at our potions station. The girl beamed up at me.

"Hello Harry!" she said happily. "How has your day been going?"

"Well thanks." I replied. Before I could ask her how she was, Neville Longbottom appeared in front of us, looking very nervous.

"Could I sit here?" he asked Hermione shakily while gesturing to the table in front of Monie and me, looking over our shoulders at the rest of the Gryffindor boys and then back, his expression nearly pleading.

"Of course Neville, Harry and I don't mind." Monie said soothingly, smiling at Neville who nearly sighed in relief and then took the seat in front of her.

"Thank you Monie….um…Potter."

"You can call me Harry." I replied instantly, smiling at the only Gryffindor boy that wasn't obnoxiously loud. Neville nodded before carefully placing his potions book on his desk. Internally I sighed. He seemed nice enough, but Neville was dreadful at potions, worse than I had been at the age of seven. I didn't really understand how one could be so terrible at potions, but Neville reached a whole new level of failure at the subject.

But no one was more surprised than me when Draco slid into the seat next to Neville. Well, second to Neville himself, who looked ready to pass out from either fright or shock, I am unsure as to which.

"Little Brother, Frizzy, Moron." Draco greeted, slamming his books down on the desk. I recovered instantly at his jibes.

"Draco." I said, frowning.

"Beaver and Idiot?" Neville flushed, looking away, and Hermione gasped, hands flying up to cover her mouth. I scowled.

"Draconis." I growled, glaring at my older brother. "I'm sure Pansy is waiting for you. Perhaps you should return to your normal seat."

"See, if I sit here today, then Pansy, who was being quite rude earlier, will have to sit with Millicent Bulstrode, who is the only one not here. I think that is quite worth me risking my life by partnering with-" he paused at my glare "-Longbottom to have Pansy suffer like this."

"Behave yourself then, or I will ensure your partner for the next month is Bulstrode." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"As if you could manage that." Draco snorted.

"My father is the teacher. He could be convinced to make a seating chart. And enforce it." I said smugly. Hermione and Neville snickered while Draco paled.

"Fine, I'll play nicely with the Gryffindors." He huffed, looking at me annoyed. "If anything, you should be proud of me. My partnering with Longbottom will only raise his great. Merlin, we might even get him to pass!" Neville flushed again.

"Dray-"

"No Harry, its ok, he's right." Neville cut me off softly, eyes shifting to look at Draco, who looked surprised before giving me a smug look. Eyes narrowing, I opened my mouth to tell Draco he should attempt to help Neville rather than make fun of him, but the conversation was ended as my father strode into the room, glaring at the class.

"Open your books to page 173." He ordered as he moved behind his desk, taking a seat and picking up his quill. "Begin, you have until the end of class."

Instantly the class scrambled to begin, some already panicking about the terrible grade they were bound to get. Hermione and I just shared a look before I began to prep the cauldron and she grabbed the book and made her way to the supply closet in the back of the classroom, first there as always.

I was pleased to see Draco quickly pen down all the ingredients that we needed and hand it to Neville, sending the relieved boy to the supply closet with a list that didn't involve searching through the text. When the blonde turned a bit towards me, I beamed at him, and he rolled his eyes and sneered at me.

Turning away from my brother, I monitored the temperature of the fire under my cauldron, casting the spell that would keep it there until I willed differently. Giving myself a satisfied nod, I moved to read through the directions in my book, just to refresh on them.

My head shot up when a crash sounded through the room. Neville was on the floor, face bright red, his basket of ingredients held up by his shaking arms not two inches from the floor. Daphne Greengrass stood over him, looking pleased. I glanced over to father's desk, frowning when I found that he had

"Watch your step Longbottom. Maybe you should just leave now- the best you're going to do is blow us all up. Or maybe we'll get lucky and you'll just blow yourself up." Daphne sneered, grinning when Crabbe and Goyle began to laugh. Anger filled me, and I started to stand to help Neville up-

"Watch it Greengrass." Draco's voice, icy and sharp, silenced the classroom. "Wouldn't want to have something extra fall into your cauldron would we? It would be a shame to have you in the hospital wing, wouldn't it?" with every word he moved closer to Neville, finally reaching him and lifting the smaller trembling boy up. Blaise stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Neville's waist to support him while Draco picked up their basket.

"Defending Gryffindors Malfoy? Isn't that against your ideals?" sneered Greengrass, looking at Draco in disgust.

"I dislike you Greengrass. You constantly make a further enemy out of me. Will your father be pleased to know that you have made an enemy out of the heir of the Malfoy family? I would image he won't be very pleased. My own father is wondering if communication with the Greengrass family is more trouble than it's worth. What do you think Daphne? I'd have to agree really." Draco was practically purring at the point, and Daphne's face lost all color.

"You're one to talk!" she spat anyway, causing Draco to raise an eyebrow. "Malfoy's aren't all that these days! You refer to a half blood as your 'little brother', and you are hanging around a squib and a mudblood!" the entire class gasped, the Gryffindors all looking outraged even though none of them particularly liked Hermione, who just looked confused.

No one but me noticed Dad had re-entered the room, and was watching the scene with a dark expression.

**Severus POV**

"-aren't all that these days! You refer to a half blood as your 'little brother-'" I gritted my teeth to keep from taking points and giving the screeching young girl detention instantly, forcing myself to wait until she had finished. Leave eleven year olds alone for a few minutes and something of this sort breaks out. Typical brats. "-and you are hanging around a squib and a mudblood!"

This had gone far enough, more than. But before I could make my presence known, Draco stepped closer to the Greengrass girl, his normally mischievous grey eyes closer to steel.

"Perhaps, Greengrass, you should take advantage of the fact that a pretty face can get you places in life and stop opening your mouth, as every time you do so you prove to the rest of us that your intellect is less than desirable." Never had I heard Draco take a tone so much like the one his father used when dressing people down at the ministry. Apparently, it did run in the family. "Squibs can't get into Hogwarts, everyone knows that. Granger, having grown up with muggles, is still getting far better grades than you while we are doing what every pureblood and most half-bloods have grown up with. Care to explain that? How someone so below yourself can learn everything you have known from birth from the pages of a book they have owned for only a few weeks and still know it better than you do? Save yourself the embarrassment Greengrass, and stand down." The Malfoy heir's magic crackled around him, reminding everyone that money and fair hair weren't the only traits that were passed down Malfoy blood lines.

"Enough." I said sharply, causing most of the class to jump and whirl around to stare at me with wide eyes. Draco didn't move, just continued glaring at the Greengrass girl who looked frozen. Harry just smiled, turning back to his potions book as Hermione rushed back to their table, looking horrified at being caught off task. "Fifteen points from Slytherin Miss Greengrass, and detention with Flitch." The girl looked horrified, and I let a malicious smile slide onto my face. "For the next three weeks."

"But-"

"Four weeks." I interrupted, sneering down at her. "I'm disappointed Miss Greengrass, normally my Slytherins know better than to argue with me. Do you wish to continue? I'm sure Mr. Flitch will love the assistance."

"No sir." She choked out, looking at her shoes. I sneered again before turning and stalking back to my desk.

"Fifteen points to Slytherin Mr. Malfoy, for standing for a classmate." I said smoothly as I sat down, glaring out at my students. "Well, what are you all standing around for? I did say this potion is due at the end of the class period." Satisfaction filled me when the students began to scramble around the classroom in a panic, and I leaned back in my chair with smirk.

**Harry POV**

Blaise helped Neville back to his seat despite the choked out protests, healing the cut on the stuttering boys elbow before returning to his own potions station, leaving a flushed embarrassed Neville in his wake.

"How did he know a healing spell?" Hermione gasped, looking torn between impressed and jealous. "Those spells aren't until third year, if we're lucky!"

"All of us have known that spell by heart since we were seven." I said in amusement. "The wizarding world doesn't really have band-aids, and that certainly doesn't stop us kids from falling off things and tripping all over the place. Blaise and Draco were always getting hurt with their rough housing while Theo and I practiced potions with my little potions set and Pansy complained about having no girls to play dress up with."

"Oh." Said Hermione, blushing a bit. "That makes sense."

"You should bring them some band-aids; they would have no idea what to do with them." I suggested, grinning. "Could be entertaining." Hermione nodded, smiling back, before turning back to cut up the next ingredient.

"He never takes points from Slytherin." I heard Ron snort from somewhere behind me. I didn't bother to disagree with him, explaining Dad's punishment system would take too long and he probably wouldn't understand it. Instead, I leaned forward, catching Draco's attention.

"That was really nice of you Dray." I whispered.

"Well, you like these Gryffindorks, so they can't be all that bad can they?" Draco responded as he leaned back to meet me halfway, so that Hermione and Neville couldn't hear us.

"Why did you really sit here today Draco?" I asked. Draco tried to give me and innocent 'who me?' look for a few seconds, but gave up when I raised an eyebrow.

"You have new friends. Even though I can't understand for the life of me why you want to be friends with Gryffindors, I know that you having new friends that the rest of us dislike will just make us grow apart. Figured I'd come see what all the fuss was about." He said the last part as a joke, trying to distract me from the sentence before that.

"We wouldn't have grown apart Dray, that's stupid. But I would like it if we were all friends. What does everyone else think?" I was a little upset Draco had talked to everyone behind my back about me being friends with Hermione and Neville, but I knew that he had done so. My older brother looked a bit guilty, as if knowing exactly what I was thinking.

"Pansy thinks it would be fun to have a girl to hang around and not just us 'hooligans' like she had her entire life; Theo thinks it would be fun to debate with Granger because you refuse to debate with him, and Blaise asked if I thought Longbottom would be mad if he called him 'cowardly lion'." Draco replied.

"So all positive?" I concluded in amusement.

"Pretty much yeah. The real question is will your little misfit lions have enough of their famed bravery to come hang out with the snakes." He smirked, and I rolled my eyes with a sigh.

"I'll ask Hermione after lunch today." I decided. "Maybe she will help you and Blaise with your essays; Theo and I have decided you two are hopeless." I deflected the extra lavender that Draco tried to flick into my cauldron after that remark, and then sat snickering to myself as Monie chewed my brother out for trying to ruin our potion.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

"Hi Neville." I greeted as I caught up to the Gryffindor boy in the corridor after lunch had ended. Pansy, Theo, Blaise and Draco were half a corridor behind us as I had rushed to catch up with the Gryffindor boy.

"Oh, hey Harry." Neville said quietly, giving me a small smile.

"Where is Hermione? I didn't see her at lunch." Instantly the smile slipped off of Neville's face and he sighed. I frowned.

"Lavender and the other girls have been giving her a hard time." Neville said quietly. "I don't understand girls. The tease her about her hair, her clothes, and her teeth. They were being pretty rude in the Gryffindor common room before lunch. Hermione ran up the stairs and didn't come back down." The boy shrugged helplessly. My eyes darkened as the group of Gryffindor girls walked past, Lavender leading the group as they laughed shrilly.

"Well, hopefully when she turns up again we can convince her they're wrong." I commented, internally seething. "In the meantime, would you like to come study with us?" I gestured to the now much closer group of Slytherins. Neville looked behind us nervously before opening and closing his mouth a few times, before nodding, his eyes impossibly wide.

"Wonderful!" Blaise exclaimed, throwing his arm around the much smaller boy's shoulders. "I can just feel that this is going to be a great study day, don't you lot think so?"

Neville's horrified look nearly reduced the rest of us to tears we were laughing so hard and Blaise began to steer him towards the library, happily babbling about things he didn't really care about; how wonderful book smell, how drawing on yourself with a quill hurt…

The poor Gryffindor might not survive this.

**I'M SORRY IT'S SO LATE AND NOT THAT GOOD AND BLAAAAH! D: forgive me! **


	6. Fool Gryffindor Tendencies Save Lives

**Hey guys! Not vanishing again (once again, sorry about that…) Well, here is the next chapter! AND THINGS ACTUALLY HAPPEN! Like, not just me making characters bond! :P WOO!**

**Harry POV**

"I don't understand why we celebrate this holiday." Draco huffed as he glowered at the Halloween decorations covering the great hall. "Muggles created Halloween. This is ridiculous! Did you see the pictures from muggle studies that third year was showing? They dress up as US! What is that about? We don't even look like that!"

"Calm down." Blaise snorted. "We get candy all day Draco, I really don't understand why you are complaining."

"Hermione said that muggles don't really take it seriously anymore, kids just dress up and get candy from their neighbors." Theo said without looking up from his book. "She told me so yesterday when she heard some Ravenclaws complaining about what the holiday stood for."

"So…people send their children…out to go beg their neighbors for candy and sweets…" Draco said slowly, his expression becoming more and more incredulous.

"I'm sure there is some explanation for the muggles behavior Dray." Snorted Pansy as she shoved chocolate bars into her bag.

"Pansy…what are you doing…?" Blaise asked slowly.

"I'm stalking up, what does it look like?" the black haired girl snapped, glaring up at Blaise with a look that dared him to challenge her.

Blaise being Blaise decided to push his luck. "Stalk up for what?" he asked.

"Stalk up for nights when I am so sick of being around only you smelly boys because Monie is in Gryffindor that I have to endure my sadness in chocolate gluttony instead of falling into a depression. Any more questions?" Pansy hissed, her eyes sweeping over the rest of us.

"Calm down Pansy, if we were that bad you wouldn't bother with us." I said, smiling at her.

"Oh, you're not bad Harry love, neither is Theo. Those two though…" she pointed at the now grinning Blaise and Draco "Are going to make me into a homicidal maniac if I let them."

"Bollocks, she caught on to our plan to make her kill all the Hufflepuffs Draco!" Blaise wailed while Draco snickered into his hands.

"Oi, watch your language!" Theo exclaimed, giving Blaise a disapproving look.

"Yes mum." Draco and Blaise chorused, rolling their eyes while Theo scowled at them.

"Hey, I'm going to go see if Neville wants to come and play exploding snap with us before curfew." I said, standing up while Theo because to lecture Draco and Blaise on exactly why he wasn't a girl. Pansy nodded, then fake pouted.

"You're going to leave me here with these lunatics?" she complained, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking out her lower lip. "How cruel of you Harry!"

"Feel free to come with me Pansy." I said in amusement. Pansy glanced at the Gryffindor table and scrunched up her nose.

"No, thank you." She said, turning back to our bickering friends.

"Thought not." I snickered before continuing on my way to the Gryffindor table.

Neville was sitting a bit away from the other first years, who were all yelling and laughing about something or other, stealing food off of each others plates. I raised an eyebrow as I passed. If Dad ever complained about my and Draco's manners again, I was going to bring up the Gryffindors.

"Oi, Squirt!" the back of my robes were grabbed, bringing me to a halt. I was whirled around and then embraced from both the front and the back, which effectively cut off my breathing. "Coming into enemy territory, the Gryffindor table, and you don't stop to say hello to your two favorite pranksters?"

"What is this world coming to Gred!" George exclaimed dramatically as they pulled back, moving to stand next to each other.

"I have no idea Forge!" Fred sighed sadly, shaking his head. "Ignored by-"

"-our little Squirt and-"

"-Blondie all because-"

"-they landed-"

"-in the-"

"-snake pit." This was punctuated by a simultaneous sigh and twin pathetic looks.

"We don't ignore you guys, we are just in different years!" I defended. "Besides, we are first years; don't you not want to talk to us? You don't like talking to Ron."

"Here is the thing Squirt." George said, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Ron is the little brother that we didn't get to pick. Therefore, we torture him relentlessly and put spiders in his bed whenever we have the chance."

"We like to think of that as an experiment. We want to see if his screams will get more masculine as he gets older!" Fred piped up.

"But you and Blondie are the little brothers we adopted." Continued George like Fred hadn't said anything.

"Which means that we torture you relentlessly-"

"-but we actually like you and therefore try not to play on-"

"-the biggest fears in your life!" they finished together, giving me the huge grins that almost always meant trouble.

"That doesn't really make sense…" I muttered. "Can I go talk to Neville now?"

"Ouch!" exclaimed Fred, clutching his chest. "You hear that Forge? We are being blown off! That's cold little brother, so cold. Must be that freezing air the dungeons you dwell in hm? Well, feel free to visit next time you surface and want to see the sun."

"What is a Slytherin doing over here?" as second year whispered to her friend, who shrugged.

"Oi, this is our little hatchling! He might be a snake, but we love him all the same!" George said quite loudly to the second year, who turned bright read and looked like she wanted to sink into the floor.

"Slither on then Squirt the hatchling!" Fred said cheerfully, ruffling my hair before shoving me towards where Neville was sitting.

Neville was watching by this time, and had a small smile as I fell into the seat next to him, sending the twins a glare as they continued to harass the second year.

"The Weasley twins scare me a bit." He admitted when I turned to him.

"Never let them hear you say that. They would be far too pleased, and their egos are almost too big to be in the same room as them already." I said, grinning. Neville laughed, shaking his head. "Anyway we, being Blaise Pansy Theo and I, were wondering if you wanted to come play exploding snap with us before curfew."

"I'd love to…but…" Neville faltered. "I haven't seen Hermione yet for dinner, I think I am going to make sure she is just studying in the common room." I opened my mouth to respond, but Lavender Brown cut me off.

"Don't you know? Poor Hermione has been crying in the bathroom since after charms class! Ron Weasley said she was a know it all and that it wasn't any wonder no one liked her. Isn't he just horrible?" the girl threw a glare down the table at Ron and began whispering to her friends until all the Gryffindor first years girls were giving Ron looks of disgust and outrage. Neville and I watched the exchange in shock.

Lavender was constantly cruel to Hermione- what right did she have to be upset on Monies behalf? Sharing a look with Neville, I knew that he shared the opinion, even though both of us wouldn't say it out loud for fear of Lavender hearing.

Before we could say anything at all, the great hall doors burst open. Professor Quirrell ran in, panting.

"Troll!" he yelled. "Troll in the dungeons! …just thought you outta know." He gasped before fainting, sprawling out on the floor. The entire hall was silent for a second, before the screaming started. My eyes flicked up to my father as Neville gripped my arm, and I noticed that he was glaring down at our defense against the dark arts teachers' unconscious body.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore bellowed. Instantly a hush fell over the students, and we all looked to the headmaster expectantly. "Everyone to their common rooms-"

"Headmaster the Slytherin common rooms are in the dungeons, where the troll is. Surely you aren't going to send them there?" Dad instantly spoke up, easily heard in the silent hall.

"Of course not. I was getting to that Severus." Dumbledore said, looking affronted. I narrowed my eyes, not believing him. Obviously my father was thinking the same thing as he sneered at the headmaster, not commenting further. "First and second year Slytherins with the Ravenclaws, third four and fifth years with the Gryffindors, and sixth and seventh years with the Hufflepuffs. Now go, quickly, perfects keep track of everyone."

"You can walk with us Harry, the Ravenclaws common room is near ours." The twins said, looking very serious for once. I nodded and Neville grabbed my arm as we stood up, the twins flanking us as we followed the crowd out into the corridors. As soon as we were out of the doors Blaise, Draco, Pansy and Theo fell into step with us, Draco and Blaise flanking us much like the twins were doing. Neville didn't seem to notice, Theo looked annoyed but Pansy and I let them do so, knowing any arguments wouldn't end in our favor. As far as those two were concerned, the four of us smaller people needed protecting.

"Fred! George! Have you seen Ron?" Percy yelled from somewhere in front of us.

"No!" the twins called back, sharing a confused look over our heads.

"I can't find him!" Percy's voice cracked a bit with panic. The twins paled, and both looked down at me.

"We're fine, go find Ron." I said, waving them off. Both were off instantly, searching the crowd for their little bother.

It was only when a frantic Lavender shoved past us that I remembered.

"Oh Merlin." I whispered, stopping dead in my tracks.

"We have to move Harry, what's wrong?" Draco hissed, taking my arm and trying to pull me forward. "We can't stop here, it's not safe!"

"Hermione, she is in the bathroom on this floor, she doesn't know about the troll!" I exclaimed, feeling the blood drain from my face. Draco dropped my arm, also paling. Blaise looked a bit sick while the other three just stared at me with wide eyes, as if hoping I was going to laugh and yell 'got you!' then tell them she was fine.

"We need to find a teacher!" Pansy exclaimed, her hands beginning to shake.

"All of the teachers are in the dungeons hunting the troll." Blaise said grimly. "And all of the perfects are occupied. I don't think we could even get ones attention long enough to tell them what is going on."

"So we're on our own." Draco muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is so typical. Lost friend, adults all nowhere to be seen, little brother is secretly a Gryffindor which means…" he pointed to me.

"We need to go warn her." I said, scowling as Draco mouthed the words with me. "Stop is Draco! You know you are just as worried about her as I am!"

"True." Draco sighed, rubbing his temples. "Ok, first things first- this is a group of six. Not all of us need to go."

"I'm going." I said instantly.

"You are one of the ones I want to leave behind the most, but I know that even if I did you would just follow. Obviously, I'm going so I can look out for you. Uncle Severus will have my head for letting you do this, but he would actually kill me if I let you go without me." Snorted Draco.

"I will come as well." Said Blaise. "But since when we find Hermione we will be going to the Gryffindor common room, I think that Pansy and Theo should go with Neville to the Gryffindors and not to the Ravenclaws like the Headmaster ordered."

"Agreed." Draco said before anyone else could speak. He crossed his arms over his chest, giving Neville, Theo, and Pansy and expectant look. "I believe you have a group to catch up with?"

Theo sighed and grabbed Neville and Pansy's hands before they could protest, and practically dragged them down the hall after the crowd of students who had left the group of first years behind.

"Come on, let's hurry." Draco muttered. "I don't want to be out in the open any longer than I need to be. Let's find Hermione and the hell out of the corridors."

"The girl's bathroom is that way." Blaise said, pointing to the left. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Why am I not surprised that you know where the girl's bathroom is?" Draco teased Blaise, who looked affronted.

"What's that supposed to mean? Pansy makes me walk with her!" the Italian exclaimed as we swiftly began our way down the corridor, the two larger boys bickering behind me.

"Sure she does. You're Italian, you were probably trying to snog all the girls going in and out of the loo." Draco teased. Blaise glared at him.

"You are ridiculous Draco Malfoy. I outta-"

"Shhh!" Blaise looked surprised as I cut him off, frowning at me. "Do you hear that?"

"Not all of us have bat hearing Harry…" Draco muttered.

"Just listen! Its sounds like…shuffling…"

"Like a giant troll that is as stupid as a boulder making its way down a stone hallway?" Draco said, his voice a bit higher than normal. "Well that's just bloody fantastic. The troll left the dungeons. Maybe Hermione already-"

"There it is!" Blaise hissed, yanking Draco and I behind a wall. The three of us peered around the corner, watching the beast with wide eyes.

Obviously, none of us had laid eyes on a troll except in the pictures we found in books back at home. The thing was hideous, with a huge body that was an off grey color and covered in brown lumps and a small head. It was drooling, its club dragging on the corridor floor as it walked, head bobbing from side to side as it looked around with beady, watery eyes.

"Um…guys…" Blaise whispered as the troll caught sight of a door and started towards it. "That's the girls bathroom."

"Of course it is!" Draco hissed. "Because nothing could ever be easy, oh no. That being an empty classroom that we could run past once the troll was inside and go get Hermione safely just wouldn't be complicated enough!"

"What are we going to do?" I exclaimed, looking between the troll and the girls bathroom door in fear.

"Maybe Monie isn't in there." Draco said. From his tone I could tell that he didn't think it was true either.

My attention was drawn away from my brother and once more to the troll as it opened the door and lumbered into the girls bathroom, the large wooden door swinging shut behind it with a loud boom. Seconds passed in silence.

And then there was a horrible, high pitched scream. Instantly I begin running for the door, my wand out. Draco and Blaise were just behind me, the latter cursing in Italian as we raced for the door. I didn't know what I was going to do when I got into the room, but I knew I had to get there.

Draco and Blaise were next to me when we finally reached the door, and the three of us shoved it open, entering the room swiftly with our wands raised.

It took me all of three seconds to memorize what was happening. Two of the stalls were destroyed, a large chuck was out of the far stone wall, and Hermione was crouched, tears streaming from her wide eyes, under the sinks. The troll's body was facing the sinks but the head was turned towards us at the door. Hermione looked between us and the troll, the look on her face alternating between relief and fear.

"Blaise, distract it, I'll grab Hermione while it isn't looking at her. Once we have her over here by the door, we can make a run for it; hide in an alcove or something if the troll follows and gives chase. We just need to get out of this small room, as soon as possible." Draco said, instantly taking charge. I felt a bit grateful for this, as I hadn't that faintest idea of how we were going to get out of this alive.

"Got it." Blaise muttered, moving a bit away towards the ruined wooden stalls. Picking up a small chunk of wood, he chucked it at the trolls head. "Oi, you!" the wood collided with the trolls head, and the clumsy beast turned towards Blaise.

Draco began moving towards Hermione as soon as she was out of the troll's line of sight, not taking his eyes off the troll or lowering his wand as he moved sideways towards her. Hermione saw him, but couldn't seem to move.

Blaise had begun to yell at the troll in Italian, which seemed to be speeding up and getting more frantic as the troll lumbered closer. I couldn't understand what Blaise was saying, but I was pretty sure he was using those curse words he had bragged about learning from his cousin over the summer.

My heart ready to burst out of my chest, I began to run through all of the spells I knew and had seen my father perform while at home as the troll swung its club at Blaise, who cried out and dropped down to the floor, rolling out of the way of a second hit.

"Stupefy! I yelled, doing the wand movements I had seen dad do when he was stunning gnomes out in the garden. The spell slammed into the troll, slowing down its movements a bit but no where near stopping it.

Draco had reached Hermione and practically picked her up, hurrying towards the door.

"Blaise, the door!" I called out, knowing that if Draco called out that both he and Hermione could be killed. Blaise picked himself up off the floor, but then was forced to throw himself in the opposite direction of the door as the troll swung its stupid club again.

What was it, what was it…dad used it on that mean dog that tried to attack Blaise when we where in the muggle world, it made the thing freeze, what was it…

"Nervi clausus!" I cried, jabbing my wand as dad had when he snarled it at the dog and pointing it at the trolls head. Dad had pointed his wand at the dogs head; if that was part of the spell I didn't want to get it wrong.

Instantly the troll dropped its club and seized once before falling to the floor, not even twitching. The only sound in the bathroom was our panting as the four of us stared at the still troll with fear.

"Did you kill it?" Monie finally croaked out, clinging to Draco still as he led her over to me where I stood in front of the door. Blaise was already at my side, having run there when the troll falling gave him the opportunity.

"No, he didn't."

We all whirled around, eyes wide, to stare at my father in the doorway. He looked furious, ushering us all out of the bathroom as he glared at the lifeless troll. As soon as the four of us were out he slammed the door closed, and began muttering what I assumed to be wards to keep the door closed until one of the professors opened it again. Then, he turned to us.

"You four. My office. _Now_."

**I would like to say that this only got posted today and not tomorrow (who am I kidding, it would have been Monday…) because I got a review that made me giggle, and decide 'eh what the heck, course work can wait!' and finish this chap. Reader rights? Haven't heard of those before, but who am I to argue eh? **


	7. A Worried Father

**And we return to our little itty bitty first years…waiting for their doom in Severus Snape's office. I am going to have soooooo much fun with this. Enjoy! **

**Harry POV **

Dad had stopped to talk to McGonagall, but sent us on to his office. Hermione and I were sitting in the two chairs in front of Dad's desk, while Draco and Blaise stood behind us with their hands on the backs of the chairs.

"Think we'll get out of here alive?" Blaise said quietly, looking towards the door.

"Depends. What do you mean by alive? If you mean breathing sure. Breathing with all freedom and hope of happiness torn from us." Snorted Draco, his knuckles white where he was gripping the back of my chair.

"Professor Snape won't expel us, right?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"No, he wouldn't expel us." I said, shaking my head. "We might have detention until we graduate, but he wouldn't expel us-"

"Though the thought crossed my mind." My stomach twisted at the obvious anger in my father's voice. His robes billowed out behind him as he moved behind his desk, glaring down at us as he slammed his hands down onto the old wood desk. "Four first years taking on a fully grown mountain troll! What were you thinking?" the last sentence came out as more of a hiss as Dad straightened up and began to pace the back of his office, growling under his breath.

"Say nothing!" Blaise hissed into Hermione's ear as she opened her mouth. The girl froze and then slowly closed her mouth.

"He is growling. That is so not good for us." Draco muttered, his eyes not leaving Dad as he paced without speaking, eyes closed like he does when he is trying to control his temper.

"He growls?" Monie whispered, looking at Dad in confusion and a little bit of fear.

"It's because of his animagus form." Draco replied. "It's common for characteristics to bleed through at the height of emotions. Just like how when McGonagall is really angry you can't understand her because she lapses in and out of hissing at you."

"What's his animagus form?" Monie asked.

"It's significantly more dangerous than McGonagall's." Blaise told her. "With much bigger teeth and much bigger claws."

"He's a panther." I informed Monie before Blaise could continue with his vague description.

"A panther? As in huge black cat that could rip us to pieces?" Hermione squeaked.

"That's the one." Draco snorted.

The four of us fell silent as we watched Dad pacing, running his hand through his hair and pinching the bridge of his nose in an effort to calm his temper. With a deep intake of breath he turned back towards us, black eyes flashing.

"What on earth possessed you to attempt to take on a mountain troll?" He ground out, looking at the four of us expectantly. None of us spoke up. "Well?"

"We didn't go out searching for the troll Uncle." Draco finally piped up. "We were on our way up to the common rooms with the rest of the students, but at dinner Lavender Brown and her little group of followers mentioned to Harry that Hermione had been in the bathroom all afternoon. Something about Ron Weasley being a prat. But we realized that she didn't know about the troll and that she was still in the bathroom…" Draco trailed off and after shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Blaise picked up.

"The perfects were all so busy and panicked that anything we said would have gone in one ear and out the other, and all of the teachers were in the dungeons searching for the troll. We sent Pansy, Neville, and Theo with the Gryffindor's. The plan was to find Hermione and get her back to the Gryffindor common room as soon as possible. We found out the hard way that the troll had escaped the dungeons." Blaise's eyes shifted slightly, the Italian accent that was normally hardly noticeable gave a slight twang to his words, making his nerves more noticeable.

"If we hadn't done so, Hermione would be dead." Draco said his jaw clenching. Dad sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I refuse to condone this- you should have gotten the attention of perfect, and had them escort you to find Miss Granger. Going alone, three first years, around the corridors when there was a very dangerous creature roaming around as well was a very, very stupid thing to do. You haven't been taught enough magic to defend yourselves. Had Harry not remembered seeing me cast that spell or more likely had not cast is correctly, you all could have been killed." Dad said, shaking his head. "Thirty points from Slytherin for your stupidity and ten from Gryffindor."

None of us said anything, and wouldn't meet my father's eyes. Even if we agreed with him I think it would have spurred on his temper and only gotten us into far more trouble than we were already in.

"Harry, come here." He said with a sigh, opening his arms. I stood up and walked around his desk, falling into my father's embrace easily. He wrapped his strong arms around me, holding me close. "Do you know how worried I was when I heard a crash, walked in, and saw you four standing there with a mountain troll on the floor?"

"I'm sorry Dad." I muttered into his robes. "It wasn't supposed to be there, Professor Quirrell said that it was in the dungeons. It was my idea to go, I didn't want to chance having Monie left on her own, and-"

**Severus POV**

"Of course it was your idea Harry." I snorted, shaking my head. Potters were all brave to a fault; whoever said that characteristics were not genetic has not had quite enough social interaction with the non-scientific world. "You are the only one with foolish Gryffindor genes, even if you are in Slytherin. Had it been Draco's plan, he would have pitched a fit until he had a perfects attention."

"I thought about it, but Harry would have been halfway down the corridor before I could have actually made a plan. I figured I would get into more trouble for letting shorty go alone than I would for going with him to keep an eye on him." My godson admitted. Harry stuck his tongue out at Draco, and I frowned in disapproval.

"Put that back in your mouth before I cut it out and use it for potion ingredients! I raised you to have far better manners than that Mr. Potter." I snapped. Harry retracted his tongue and looked up at me with wide eyes before scowling at Draco, who was snickering. "I'll walk the four of you back to Gryffindor- you three can walk back to Slytherins with the perfects when it is declared safe for you to do so."

The four first years walked over to the door whispering to each other. Rubbing my temples, I sighed.

"This lot is going to give me grey hair by the time I am thirty five…" I muttered before following them out.

**Harry POV**

"What in Merlin's name happened?" Pansy hissed, running up to us as the portrait hole closed behind Blaise. I ignored her in favor of looking around the Gryffindor common room, which was full of warm colored woods, reds and golds. The entire room just reminded me of fire. Warm, but not really relaxing.

"It should not have taken you guys that long to grab Hermione and bring her here." Theo agreed, coming up to stand next to Pansy with his arms crossed over his chest. Neville walked up as well, followed by the twins, who were scowling.

"They saved me from the troll, it came into the bathroom!" Monie blurted out, her wide brown eyes shifting between our five friends standing expectantly in front of us. Draco groaned, covering his eyes with his hands so he wouldn't see the reactions to what Monie said.

To my surprise, it was the twins that were most furious.

"What the bloody hell-"

"-were you lot thinking when you-"  
>"-decided that gallivanting around when-"<p>

"-a bloody troll is stomping around the school-"

"-is a good idea? We didn't run off searching for our little brother-"  
>"-just for our adoptive brothers to go get themselves-"<br>"-killed!" they finished together, glaring down at Draco, Blaise and I while Pansy pulled a now

Shaking Monie off to the side to comfort her.

"We weren't exactly expecting to meet the troll were we? Hermione was missing and we went to find her- the troll just happened to beat us to it, unfortunately." Draco said defensively. "We won against the troll, just in case you care."

"You four beat a mountain troll? On your own?" Neville spluttered, looking at us in shock.

"Well, Harry beat the mountain troll while Draco and I distracted it from killing Hermione." Blaise amended. "So we saved the girl, but Harry defeated the monster. Still a good deal for our glory, don't you think Draco?"

"Oh shut up…" Draco muttered, shoving the other boys shoulder as he walked further into the Gryffindor common room. "Merlin it looks like Dumbledore's phoenix threw up in here. It might actually be physically harming my eyes!"

"Way to go Draco, lets insult the Gryffindors while standing in the lion's den, bravo brother bravo…" I muttered, shaking my head while the younger Gryffindors glared at the Slytherin who was looking around the room with poorly hidden disgust.

"It's better than living in a filthy dungeon!" snapped one of the third year Gryffindors when Draco made an insulting comment about one of the tapestries of a lion locked in battle hanging on the wall. Draco opened his mouth to respond, but I grabbed his arm and yanked him over to where the rest of the Slytherins were standing.

"What?" he asked, trying to give me his most innocent 'who me?' expression.

"You, Draco, are the reason we can't go places." I said drily before turning away from the offended blonde to talk to Theo, who was snickering.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Draco complained. "HARRY TELL ME!"

**I hate this chapter. Don't blame me; blame the crazy cough meds I'm on. They have hydros in them. Yeah. WOO CRAZY PAIN KILLERS! Except not at all. Why do people feel like this by CHOICE? Beats me… OH! Someone made a comment about how I call Hermione "Monie" that's on purpose. No, I'm not spelling it wrong, that's how I want it. Yes, I'm American and lame (you wouldn't shorten it in the UK says this reviewer?) but hey, nicknames are fun! **


	8. Marcus Flint VS Oliver Wood

**Sooooooooooo I'm a little stuck on how to get through the rest of the first year…when stuck, always throw in some character bonding, right? ;) **

**Harry POV**

"Muggles don't make sense."

"Draco, you can't just dismiss them like that! They actually have some very interesting technology that-"

"Does any of it run off magic?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then I have no use for it, therefore, I couldn't care less."

Hermione glared at Draco, who just smirked at her and lounged back in his chair, obviously amused by her frustration with him. Blaise was biting his lip to keep from laughing, while Neville, Theo and I just kept silent, not willing to draw Monies attention to us with her current mood.

"Hey Neville, can I borrow your Herbology book? I think I left mine in my bed again." Blaise asked as he put his Transfiguration book back into his shoulder bag, along with his carefully rolled up essay.

"Sure, I've just finished with it." Said Neville, happily handing his book over. "Read carefully about the roots though, it talks in circles about them a bit before it gets to the main point. That skimming thing you normally do won't work, you won't catch it."

"Oh, thanks." Blaise muttered, Hermione's glare turning onto him.

"You shouldn't skim Blaise, you are missing very useful information!" the female Gryffindor snapped. Neville mouthed 'sorry' to Blaise behind Monies back, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Don't ruffle your feathers at me because Draco doesn't care what a toaster is." Blaise grumbled, stealing a piece of Theo's parchment and flipping open Neville's Herbology book. Theo glared at him and gathered all of his parchment closer to him protectively.

"Who has the page numbers for the Charms assignment? I didn't catch them." I said, ignoring all of my friends bickering. The seven of us couldn't get together without it, and with both Monie and Pansy nagging about this and that and Draco picking fights with them because he thought their reactions were funny it had been either learn to tune it out or lose my sanity.

"273 to 289." Replied Draco. "Mind doing it for me?"

"I don't live to do your charms homework Dray. You never do your charms; what have you got against them?" I teased, rolling my eyes as the blonde pouted.

"What is there to like? Charms are the worst; I wish I could just take defense twice! That's a class worth having." Draco complained, scowling at my charms book.

"How can you not think Charms are useful Draco?" I asked incredulously. "Half the spells you use are Charms!"

"Shut up Harry, defense spells and dueling spells are way better." Draco snorted his noise in the air. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"You are unbelievable."

"And you are puny." He shot back.

"I am not puny!" I exclaimed.

"You kind of are honey." Pansy said sympathetically. "You're barely as tall as me, and I'm shorter than Monie and Theo, Neville is just average, and Draco and Blaise tower over us dwarves." Both the bigger boys looked far too pleased with this.

"It's not like any of you are tall!" I protested. "My dad is at least a foot and a half taller than all of you!"

"That's because Uncle Severus is secretly a vampire, which makes him abnormally tall." Draco said conclusively.

"What? That's absurd!" Monie exclaimed. "Even if he was a vampire, that wouldn't explain why Professor Snape is that tall!"

"Why not?"

"Here we go again…" Neville sighed, shaking his head as Draco and Hermione began to argue again.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~..~

"Dad, what are our yule plans?" I asked, sitting sideways in my favorite chair next to the fireplace in my father's personal chambers.

"We have an invitation to the Malfoys as usual, and the Weasleys have insisted on having the Malfoys and us over for dinner on the eve. Since your marks are good, I have decided that you may have over some of your band of hooligans for the New Year, if you wish to do so." Dad said, not looking up from his potions magazine.

"Really?" I exclaimed, my book dropping to my lap as I deemed it less important than the conversation.

"Unlike your Uncle, I do not talk for the pleasure of hearing my own voice Harry. If I did not intend to allow you your friends over, I would have never mentioned it." Snorted my father, still not looking up from his reading.

"How long can I have them over?" I asked excitedly. "We'll have to give Hermione some floo powder; I doubt her family has any. Are they hooked up to the floo network? You might just have to go and get her I suppose-"

"Child, calm yourself! It's not even break yet and I regret allowing you this." Growled my father, looking up from his reading finally just to glare at me. I just beamed back at him, use to his demeanor. When his eyes narrowed more, I just waited, looking at him expectantly.

"They may come over on the 28th of December and stay threw the 2nd of January, unless their parents want us to take them to school, then they will stay until we go to the train on the fourth. You and I will retrieve Miss Granger a few hours before the others arrive by floo." Dad said before turning back to his reading.

"Thanks Dad!" I said happily, jumping out of my chair and running towards the large wooden door.

"Do not run, you are not a wild beast, act like the civilized creature you are!" was snapped at me as I grabbed all my things so I could go to the dorms to tell everyone our plans. Right before I got out the door, I turned back.

"Oh, Dad, Gred and Forge said that they have another potion they invented that they want you to look over again, just to check for mistakes before they brew it. Yes, Dad, it is another prank potion." I mused, added the last part before he could ask.

"Tell them that if they weren't so childish, they would have been brilliant and able to become masters in most subjects." Dad said, annoyed.

"I'll tell them to leave it on your desk again." I said, laughing.

"Get out of here brat!"

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

"You managed to convince your dad, Professor Snape, to let use come stay with you?" Blaise was staring at me, impressed. "For longer than a day? Normally we have to party and Draco's house!"

"He suggested it, because my marks are good." I said happily.

"I dunno if I can come." Neville said quickly, not looking at me.

"Awww, just because you're scared of big bad Professor Snape doesn't mean you get to not come Neville." Blaise said, throwing his arm around the Gryffindor boy. "We'll protect you from big bad batman!"

"Hey, Batman is a loving nickname given to him by my seven year old self, and when I want to annoy him and not lose anything vital." I said, grinning at my friends. "We will not be using it to express Nev's fear for my father."

"If you live close enough for my parents to drive me I can probably come." Monie offered.

"We live nowhere close to you Monie." I said, grinning. "We live in the middle of nowhere! But you don't have to worry about that, Dad says that we will come and get you because you are the only one without a floo connection."

"Oh. Alright." Said Monie, blushing a bit. "I didn't even think of that. Are most wizarding homes far away from muggle cities?" she tentatively asked. She had been doing that a lot more lately, as the rest of us had grown up in the wizarding world and knew the things that didn't show up in the mountains of books Hermione read while trying to get a grasp on wizarding culture.

"Not at all, only the giant ones like the pureblood manors, and the country homes. Others are hidden within muggle world, with spells and things. My mom's town house isn't even hidden; it just has wards that make it so magic can't be seen inside. It looks completely normal to the muggles walking past." Blaise was the one to answer, smiling at Monie who nodded thoughtfully.

"That makes sense I suppose." she said, the gears in her head almost visibly turning as she processed the new information.

"Squirt! Blondie! Minions of Squirt and Blondie!" all seven of us turned to see the Weasley twins bolting down the hall in their brilliant red and gold quidditch uniforms. I stopped, waiting for them to catch us.

When they got close and didn't start slowing, I winced and braced myself, trying to be ready of the-

"SQUIRT!"

-impact. Both twins barreled into me, giving me a death hug from all sides.

"Alright, alright, back off, I like my little brother alive thanks." Draco said, swatting the twins over the head until they both released me.

"You lot are coming to our match, yeah?" Fred asked, looking at me expectantly.

"It's still on in this weather?" Theo asked in shock. "But it's snowing, and freezing out! Why would you even want to play?"

"Oh hush, you hate when your feet are off the ground." George said, waving off Theo's horror. "It's a bit cold, but nothing that will faze anyone who can actually play the game!"

"There is such a thing as 'too much commitment' boys." Pansy said drily, looking out the window as Hermione nodded in agreement.

"I don't understand why you would want to even go outside in this weather! Count me out; I am not sitting out in this for a game I won't even be able to see." Monie said, giving the blizzard like conditions outside a dirty look as if the snow personally offended her. "I'm going to the library."

"I still need help on that Transfiguration essay, could you?" asked Pansy.

"So do I." admitted Neville.

"I can help with that, I finished last night." Theo said, following after them as Hermione led the way to the library, leaving Draco, Blaise and myself with the annoyed twins.

"Fine, ickle first years don't want to freeze, we understand." The twins said simultaneously, rolling their eyes and crossing their arms over their chests.

"Dad is probably going to convince them to cancel it guys, you know how he is about flying out in this kind of weather." I reminded them. "The chances of this match actually happening aren't very high."

"You're just trying to make yourself feel better for not coming and being our cheerleading squad." Huffed Fred.

"No Mr. Weasley, he is quite right. The match today will have to be postponed until after break- regardless of Mr. Wood's arguments." Professor McGonagall was standing at the end of the corridor, the scowling Gryffindor quidditch captain standing next to her with his arms crossed over his chest. When the sixth year's eyes landed on me, they narrowed even further. I shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. He was glaring at me because it was my father that canceled the match, from the expression also on my Transfiguration Professors face.

"So no game before break?" Fred whined.

"It would appear not Mr. Weasley." McGonagall said stiffly before walking back down the corridor where she had come from. Oliver Wood didn't move, eyes still narrowed at me.

"Don't sweat it Ollie, we will still beat Hufflepuff when we come back from the holidays!" George exclaimed, throwing his arm around the older Gryffindor. "I mean, its Hufflepuff, even with that weird third year as seeker we cant loose!"

"If it had been a Slytherin game, Professor Snape would not have canceled it." Wood hissed, shrugging George's arm from his shoulders.

"If it had been a Slytherin game it would have been canceled as soon as Professor Snape looked out the window. Just because you are willing to die playing quidditch in foolish weather doesn't mean everyone else is." Draco said sharply, his own eyes also narrowed.

"Oh please, he would have let you lot play, his precious snakes."

"Harassing first years Wood? And to think I thought more highly of you." Marcus Flint walked up behind us, arms at his sides as he smirked at Wood. Having grown up with the head of Slytherin, I instantly noticed that despite how relaxed Marcus seemed, his wand was in his hand at the ready.

"Flint." Snarled the Gryffindor, his hand going to his pocket as he took another step forward. My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened. They were going to duel? Here? Why did McGonagall have to leave?

Marcus took a step forward as well, placing himself in front of me. Draco and Blaise stood next to the Weasley twins, eyes as wide as I imagine mine were as they looked back and forth between the two sixth years.

"Oliver, this is uncalled for." Fred said softly, all traces of humor gone from his face.

"What is?" Wood asked, confused. "I know he is going to pull a wand, I'm just ready for it!"

"Oh please Wood." Snorted Marcus. "You take every opportunity you find to pull your wand on me. I have a theory that it's because I'm so much better at quidditch than you are, you have to subconsciously try to prove to yourself that you aren't a complete failure."

Wood's face contorted with anger, and he pulled his wand out, pointing it t Marcus's chest. The twins shared a look and then took off running in the direction of the dungeons.

Marcus revealed his own wand, raising it to be level with Wood.

Without thinking, I caught his arm.

Both sixth years stared at me in surprise, while Draco and Blaise looked at me with something similar to horror.

"Please stop Marcus." I said softly, my hand shaking even as I kept it on the older boys arm. "Nothing has happened, it would be stupid to be caught fighting for no reason."

"He was advancing on you little ones, Gryffindors are rash! For all I know, he could have pulled his wand on you without thinking!" Marcus protested, not taking his eyes off of Wood.

"I wouldn't have pulled my wand on first years!" Wood said angrily.

"Which is why when I rounded the corner these three were trying to huddle closer to the Weasley twins while you glared at them? You lot are all the same, if they are a snake they are free game." Growled Marcus, his lip curling in contempt.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Wood spat.

"It means that I am sick and tired of finding you Gryffindors cursing the younger years of Slytherin! They don't even know the spells to defend themselves, but its ok, because they are slimy snakes they must be dark and have done something to deserve it!" Marcus sneered mockingly. "No matter that they are eleven and twelve, they have to be evil!"

"No one curses first and second years except other first and second years." Snorted Wood.

"Unbelievable." Hissed Marcus. "There is a reason Slytherins travel in packs. There are always those upper years who want to give the nasty snakes what they deserve, and they always end up going after the little ones. All the houses do it, there is no way you haven't noticed Wood."

"Only Slytherins are low enough to go after younger years!" Wood exclaimed.

"No, only Slytherins stick to harassing their own year mates. The rest of you pick on the weaker links. Have you ever seen two Slytherins fighting? Sure, two Hufflepuffs, two Ravenclaws, two Gryffindors, nothing unusual. But think about it. Ever seen two Slytherins?" Marcus smirked bitterly when Wood stayed silent. "Exactly. Because it doesn't happen. Fights within our house stay in our common room, because who would have our backs out here in the corridors if not the other outcasts?"

"That's not true Flint. Dumbledore would never allow-"

"Dumbledore is a fool Oliver, who preaches that Slytherins all go bad, and he has blatant favoritism to the Gryffindors and everyone knows it. All of you condemn us the moment our tie turns green no matter what, and I'm bloody sick of it. Now put your wand down and let Harry, Draco and Blaise leave if you believe that your peers don't actively harass our first years." Marcus said sharply, the tip of his wand glowing. "Because currently you are only proving me right."

"You'll hex me as soon as I do that Flint, I don't think so." Wood said, shaking his head. "I'm not stupid."

"Clearly you are, or everything I just told you wouldn't be news to your golden ears." Sneered Marcus.

"Snape favors the Slytherins!"

"That's because every other teacher in this school favors the other houses! Someone has to favor the Slytherins, because the amount of trouble we get in for fights that the Gryffindors get away with no punishment for would have us in negative points by the second week of school!" Marcus's carefully kept temper was slowly starting to break.

"Slytherins start those fights!"

"They start just as many as the Gryffindor's, but who would believe a Slytherin over a Gryffindor?" Wood opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Marcus…please." I said quietly. "I just want to go back to the common room."

The older boys jaw tightened, before he gave a sharp nod. "Very well. Draco, Blaise, behind me with Harry, now."

Without taking their eyes off Wood the two did so, standing on either side of me with their wands out, even though they wouldn't be much help if a fight did occur.

"Walk backwards." Marcus ordered, taking a slow step backward with his wand still trained on the Gryffindor quidditch captain. Wood's brow furrowed in confusion as the four of us slowly made our way down the corridor. When we reached the end of the hall, Marcus shoved us around the corner with a sharp order of 'run!'

The last thing I before following Draco and Blaise was the baffled expression on Oliver Wood as he lowered his wand.

**It is true if you think about it, every house is favored besides Slytherins…how would you have liked to be labeled 'evil' at the age of eleven? REVIEW! **


	9. New Year Pacts

**According to the interwebs, the Grangers first names are never given in the books, and they are commonly referred to as 'Dan and Jane'. Ok then! **

**Harry POV**

"Dad, we have to be at Monie's house in ten minutes, how are we getting there?" I asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet eagerly. I'd been looking forward to this day since we arrived at the manor for Yule, even through Yule it was all Draco and I could talk about.

"We'll be apparating, because connecting her house to the floo was far too much paper work." Dad said, pulling on his black cloak. I scrunched up my nose. Dad knew I hated apparating!

"Dad, we are going to the muggle world, are you sure you should wear your cloak?" I asked quirking and eyebrow like he so often did.

"Brat. We are only apparating to Miss. Grangers house, interacting with her parents, and then leaving with her. I will hardly be exposing the wizarding world by wearing my travel cloak. If you are done questioning me, then we should be off." Dad sneered, turning and stalking to the door, holding it open and giving me an impatient look. Grinning, I ran out the door in front of him, running all the way to the edge of the wards before I stopped to wait for him.

**Severus POV**

Rolling my eyes, I stepped out of the wards, offering Harry my arm while repeating Hermione Grangers address in my head. With a sigh Harry grasped my arm, closing his eyes right.

With a loud pop we appeared on the Granger's front lawn. I caught Harry when he swayed a bit, looking sick.

"I hate that. So. Much."

"One cannot travel everywhere by broom Harry. You need to get use to at least one wizarding method of transportation." I said, giving my son an amused look.

"I like trains!" Harry exclaimed as we walked up to the front door. I raised an eyebrow at Harry before rapping on the door with my knuckles.

"That hardly counts little one." I mused, shaking my head.

"Well apparating sucks, and so does the floo." Huffed Harry, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he waited for the door to open.

"Harry!" squealed Hermione as she opened the door, tackling my son in a hug. "I wasn't sure if you were going to use the fire place or not, I was trying to figure out how to explain it to my parents, but now I don't have to! Professor Snape, come in please, come in!" the girl moved aside and ushered us into the house, looking torn between bouncing in excitement and being sick with nerves. My lips curled into a smirk. It was good to know that having Harry didn't ruin my reputation as the feared bat of the dungeons.

The two adults standing in the sitting room both looked remarkably like my student, both with the plain brown hair and brown eyes. I gave them a curt nod, a tad annoyed to see them eyeing me wearily.

"Mom, Dad, this is my best friend Harry Potter and his dad Professor Snape." Hermione said quickly, looking between Harry and I and her parents anxiously. Internally sighing, I stepped forward, extending my hand to the two muggles.

"Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I said formally. "I instruct your daughter's potions class."

"Dr. Dan Granger, and this is my wife Dr. Jane Granger. It's nice to meet you Mr. Snape sir." The man, Dan, said, shaking my hand quickly.

"You're a Wizard?" asked Jane Granger, looking at me in interest while her husband gave her a disapproving look.

"Indeed." I said, inclining my head.

"I have a few questions for you…" Jane said, ignoring her husband.

"Of course Ma'am." I agreed.

"Mom, I'm going to show Harry my room." Hermione said quietly, grabbing Harrys hand and dragging him up the stairway. My eyes followed the two children until I couldn't see them anymore, and then my gaze returned to the girls' parents.

"What did you wish to ask?" I inquired as Jane Granger offered me a seat, which I took stiffly.

"I- we- want to know that Hermione will be safe over the rest of her holidays." The woman said, looking at me nervously to see if I was offended.

"Mrs. Granger-"

"Jane, please." She interrupted. I forced back my scowl at her interruption, nodding instead.

"Jane. My home is one of the most excellently warded buildings in the world, as my son is very famous and has…enemies. No one has ever been able to find it without instruction. The children are forbidden from flying-"

"Flying?" she asked, alarmed. "Like on brooms?"

"Yes, on brooms, though even if they were allowed Hermione despises them, so that won't be a danger. As the children cannot do magic outside of school, there really is no danger for them."

"Oh. Well. Um, Mr. Snape, if you don't mind, I also had a few questions about magic in general." The muggle woman said, fiddling with her hands on her lap. "Hermione told us all about her school and tried to explain some aspects of the… wizarding world to us, but there is only so much she knows, after all she has only been part of this world for the last four months."

"Indeed. Ask, I will answer if I am able." I said. This was why I never went to give the muggleborns their letters; I hated having to do this, any wrongly worded answer could put the muggle parents into a panic.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts is a required class that my daughter in enrolled in- what are the 'dark arts'? It sounds very dangerous, are they also taught those later?" Jane launched off immediately. Obviously these questions had been stewing during the four months her daughter had been off at Hogwarts. Her husband was watching me carefully, as if looking for any reason he might have to not trust what I was going to answer with.

"The dark arts are not taught within the school, as they are dangerous to one's physical and mental health. Just as non-magic folk, the wizarding world has our fair share of criminals, dark wizards. Defense against hexes and curses is taught through all seven years of schooling at Hogwarts, we want our students to be prepared for anything they might face." I replied, cursing in my head at the twos horrified looks.

"So the wizarding world is a dangerous place?" my jaw clenched. This was exactly why I disliked talking to muggles.

"No more than your own world." I said sharply. "At any time you could be killed in a car accident, a shooting, you could get mugged, robbed, attacked on the streets. Hermione will not be susceptible to that anymore, as magic will easily get her out of those situations. As long as she can hold her own with a wand, which I guarantee that she can, your daughter will be fine." I thought it best not to admit the fact that she had already survived being attacked by a troll. "Your world is actually more dangerous for her than mine is at the moment."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you." Jane said quickly. "I just worry, this is all so new, you know?"

"No offense taken Mrs. Granger, I have dealt with many worried parents over the years. Now, I apologize but the children's other friends will be arriving at my home soon, we must be there to receive them." I said, itching to get out of the house as I stood up. Both muggles got to their feet as well, nodding.

**Harry POV**

"I think my mom is going to try to ask Professor Snape about the wizarding world." Monie said unhappily, biting her lip.

"He can handle it; he explained it to me when I was little." I said, waving off her worries.

"You grew up with muggles? I've heard you mention it, and I asked Draco, but he told me that it wasn't his business for me to tell." Monie said, tilting her head to the side and studying me. I sighed, running my hand through my hair.

"I forgot that you don't know. I suppose Neville doesn't either…" I muttered. "We'll talk about it later, ok?"

Monie looked ready to protest, but she nodded when I gave her a pleading look.

"Harry!" Monie jumped at my father's sharp call, and I looked at her in amusement, used to how my father yelled for me. Monie blushed, grabbing one handle of her trunk and giving me a hopeful look. I grinned taking the other handle we carefully carried it down the stairs.

"I would ask if you had this thing full of bricks, but I know it's just the ridiculous amount of books…" I muttered.

"Oh hush up; you have more books than I do." Snapped Monie as we made it to the bottom of the stairs and dropped her trunk on the living room floor.

"Jealous?" I teased.

Monie's parents watched in awe as Dad flicked his wand, shrinking Hermione's trunk and casting a feather light charm on it before ordering Monie to put it in her pocket. She did so without hesitating, beaming at her parents.

"If you are ready to leave Miss. Granger?" Dad drawled, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest. Monie jumped over and quickly hugged both her parents before running to my side.

Dad wrapped one arm around my shoulders and the other around Monie's shoulders, drawing us both close to him as if for a hug. I giggled at Hermione's shocked expression before the sensation of being squeezed through a tube overtook me.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

"I've never understood why this is when the year turns over." Blaise said from his spot lying on the floor, messing with Pansy's hair as she used his stomach as a pillow. "It's like we have two new years- this official one and then when the school year ends and the new one begins."

"Not everyone goes to school Blaise." Snorted Theo from the large chair he was curled up in with his copy of Hogwarts a History. "Why should the new year be in the middle of the summer instead of after holiday break? Everyone gets holiday break at their jobs. It makes sense."

"Does it really matter?" Draco asked from in front of the fire. "We have an excuse to have a giant sleepover party. That's good enough for me."

"Professor Snape isn't as scary as he is in class." Neville said happily from next to Draco, who rolled his eyes and snorted.

"That's because there aren't a bunch of students risking all of his others students' lives with their stupidity. Being at home where we can't hex each other or cause too much trouble is a lot less stressful for him." Draco pointed out. Neville flushed, not looking at the blonde.

"Be nice Draco." Monie scolded. "You and Harry are used to Professor Snape and all of his mannerisms. He is quite terrifying. You had to have thought so at least once in your life!"

"The man is terrifying, he always has been and he always will be." Draco said, shrugging with a grin.

"I never thought so." I said quietly from my place on the couch next to Monie. The other six looked at me in surprise.

"Never?" Pansy asked in surprise. "It took me two years to get the courage to even say a word to the man!"

"Wait, Harry, you said you were going to tell me about how you lived with muggles and how Professor Snape became your father." Hermione remembered, crossing her arms over her chest.

I froze. Draco did as well, eyes locking with mine while Blaise, Pansy, and Theo all looked at me in surprise. Neville looked confused, while Monie looked expectant.

Draco stood up and made his way over to the couch, sliding onto it behind me and wrapping an arm around me.

"Are you sure you want to talk about it? You don't have to Harry, no matter what Hermione says. Did you really say you would tell her about it?" Draco asked softly, his mouth close to my ear so that no one else could hear what he was saying. I nodded, leaning into his side for comfort.

"It's ok Draco, I can handle it." I said softly.

**Severus POV**

Hogwarts had been good for Harry. His voice was louder, not quite normally but defiantly louder when he talked then it had ever been, and he was more outgoing then he had ever dared to be.

"It all…it all started after Voldemort killed my parents…Dumbledore, he dropped me at my Aunt's house." I heard Harry saying through the door. I growled under my breath, leaning against the wall and pinching the bridge of my nose. "My aunt, she hates magic, she hated my mom, and I'm pretty sure Dumbledore knew that when he left me with her."

Harry- my son- took a deep breath. I could hear Draco say something to him, but not what my godson said. Though I would never say it out loud, I was thankful that the bigger blonde boy had taken to watching over the much smaller Harry. Even after four years with a stable home the boy still hadn't physically recovered from his first seven years of life. In my professional opinion, the boy would be small and scrawny forever, though as his guardian I still longed to see the impacts of his malnourishment during the key years of a child's life vanish.

"Dumbledore, he never sent anyone to check on me, ever. The first person that did was Dad, when I was just about seven. I still remember it vividly. My relatives kept me in the cupboard under the stairs, so that I wouldn't spread my 'freakishness'. When Dad came, I heard his voice outside of the cupboard as he argued with my Aunt and Uncle, clearly angry with them. I was fascinated by his voice, it sounded so different from anyone that came to the house before. My aunt said something about him killing me, then the door to my cupboard swung open and there he was kneeling in front of me. He looked angry for a second, but then he relaxed and started talking to me, he called me Harry…but…I didn't know that was my name. So he started calling me 'little one' so that I would know he was referring to me."

Harry remembered all of this? My jaw clenched as I realized that he must remember his abuse better than I had assumed he did.

"That's why he calls you that!" Theodore exclaimed.

"Theo's right, he does call you that…but only when your being emotional, or he is trying to hide that he feels emotional about something. Like the night with the troll!" Blaise put in.

"Yeah. He's been calling me that since seconds after we met." Harry said happily. Then his tone changed. "He told that he was going to take me away from my relatives after trying to get me to come over to him, but as soon as he said that I threw myself at him. He stood up, with his wand pointed at my relatives. At the time I had no idea what he was doing, but I was so happy when I figured out the stick meant that the man taking me away was what my relatives had dibbed 'freaky' to."

"How could they do that?" Hermione exclaimed. I could almost hear the horrified look on her face.

"They hated magic. It was normal, it was freakish, because they couldn't do it and it could do anything. My aunt hated my mother for what she could do. At first it was jealousy, then it became hatred as she got older." Harry said quietly.

"But…but you were just a child!" the girl just couldn't grasp that Harry's relatives hated him so much as to mistreat him.

"Well how did your parents react to you having magic Monie?" Pansy asked. "All of our parents already knew as they are witches and wizards themselves, the rest of us were raised in this world, and…we know how Harry's family of muggles reacted to finding out what he was."

"They were…shocked I guess. Dad a bit more than Mum, he was upset when he found out I was going to a boarding school, but I think that was more because he didn't want me to go somewhere he had never been where he couldn't protect me…" the girl said slowly. "Mum said he was nervous about me becoming part of this new…different I suppose, world where he can't protect me."

"Good thing Dad didn't tell him about the troll incident then." Harry said, giggling. The other children laughed while the girl groaned.

"I would have never seen Hogwarts again, heck; I would never have seen the light of day again!"

Realizing that they were switching topics, I moved away from the door and continued down the Manor hall towards my lab.

We had moved from the cottage to the Manor when Harry was nine, because with the constant company I felt we needed more space. It might have also had something to do with the far superior potions lab that the Manor contained. With the family history of potions masters, the labs took up nearly the entire cellar.

I'd ponder what my son could so vividly remember later; right now I have to make Remus's wolfsbane potion.

~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~

**Harry POV**

"We need to make a goal for the New Year!" Blaise exclaimed, glancing up at the giant grandfather clock that read 11:14. "Only forty six minutes until midnight!"

"How about we try not to get into anymore life threatening situations?" Draco drawled. "I quite enjoy living you know."

"No, something better than that!" exclaimed Blaise, glaring at Draco who rolled his eyes at the Italian.

"My goal is to give Monie a makeover." Pansy said happily, smiling at our bushy haired friend with a smile that reminded me of a shark.

"My goal is to survive avoiding Pansy makeover." Hermione dead panned, inching away from the black haired girl and closer to me.

"You lot are terrible at this." Blaise huffed, glaring up at all of us. "Something fun, something we shouldn't be doing, something that might be dangerous! Something we all want to do!"

"We all like different things though." Neville pointed out. "Why do we all have to have the same one? I can't see all of us agreeing on one thing…"

"No, like, something we can do together!" Blaise was obviously frustrated. "Like become our own quidditch team this summer or something!"

"Except Neville and Hermione hate flying Blaise." Theo said, glancing up from his book.

"Yeah, who would we play against anyway?" I pointed out.

"I think aiming to do something important together would be good, although I can't see Blaise coming up with a good idea, let alone one we can all agree on…" Blaise pulled a face at Pansy as she finished her comment, pushing her off of him. "Oi! I was comfortable!"

"Well you shouldn't be mean to your pillow then should you?" he shot back. Pansy huffed and flopped over, laying on Neville instead so that she could glare at Blaise while lying down.

"I think you all should read Hogwarts a History before we start second year." Monie said.

"You want me to use my free time during the summer to read a book about school?" Draco asked, looking horrified. "Are you insane? There is no way I am doing that Monie."

"Draco, you are the most-"

"We could get the twins to help us invent a prank potion or something." Neville cut in, sensing the argument between Monie and Draco if someone else didn't speak up. "Then at the end of the year we could set it off in the great hall or something!"

"Why can't we do something academic?" complained Hermione. Blaise and Draco both made a face, even Neville scrunched up his nose a bit.

"I have an idea." Theo spoke up. All of us immediately turned to him as he closed his book and placed it on the table beside him. Theo didn't normally give ideas, preferring to instead only make his opinions of others ideas known. But when he did have an idea, they were normally just as brilliant as the rest of the things he came up with.

"Well?" Draco demanded impatiently.

"Professor Snape, Harry's first dad, and Harrys godfathers all became animagus during their school years, yes?" When Draco and I nodded, having heard the stories many times and told them to our friends before, Theo continued. "Why don't we do that? No one would be the wiser, and we can even do that weird nickname thing that Remus told us about."

The other six of us were silent for a moment, before grins began to stretch over all of our faces.

"That's very advanced magic though." Hermione pointed out.

"I'd say we are fairly advanced for our age, considering most of us could show up second year students." Sniffed Theo, smirking at us all. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think all of us could accomplish it."

"Harry and I can easily make the potions that help you reveal your animal; we know where to buy ingredients you want to keep under the radar from." Draco said, his silver eyes dancing. "We could have them done within a month."

"After the first few times, it doesn't require a wand or someone else to ground you, so if we can all grasp it before summer we can practice over the summer without being detected by the ministry no matter where we are…" Pansy put in, looking thoughtful.

"I love this idea." Blaise said happily.

"Sounds really hard though…" Neville said slowly.

"But I think we can handle it." I put in, smiling at Neville. "Besides, it's a dead useful skill to have."

"We can't register our forms until we turn seventeen though, so until then it will be illegal." Hermione said. "But I can live with that."

"You say that like we plan on registering." Snorted Draco, shaking his head. "If I am on the run, I don't want them knowing that I have another get away skill! And I could use it to spy or something if I'm small enough!"

"Well everyone else will register!" she exclaimed, before seeing the rest of our expressions. After making eye contact with each of us, the bushy haired muggleborn deflated. "None of you are going to register either are you?"

"Don't worry Monie, we will teach you to disregard the law as much as the rest of the wizarding world. If the Ministry wasn't run by morons, we would follow it, but as of the last…oh…maybe hundred years? Something like that, it has been run by morons, therefore all new laws should be ignored." Blaise said happily, throwing his arm around Monie's shoulders.

"Privately." Pansy added. "Privately ignored."

"Come on guys, hands in! It's almost midnight!" Neville said excitedly. The seven of us moved into a circle, all grinning at each other as we stacked our hands on top of one another in the middle. "Who wants to say it?"

"This year all seven of us will achieve our animagus transformations, and have each of our respective forms mastered by this time next year. We will make up nicknames according to our forms, and we will tell no one else of this plan without the entire groups consent." Theo said firmly.

"Agreed." The rest of us chorused just as the clock chimed, signifying the stroke of midnight and the start of a new year.

"Well, I suppose that settles that." Blaise said, grinning while the rest of us laughed. This year was going to be interesting, that was for sure.

**Like? Review please! :D **


	10. Never Use Unknown Spells

**Double digits! Boooooo yeeeeeeah! So here is chapter 10, where we will be revisiting Mr. Oliver Wood of Gryffindor and Mr. Marcus Flint of my own house. ;) enjoy!**

**Harry POV**

"Dray, I'll be fine!" I said, shoving my brother away from me. "I may be smaller than the rest of you, but I am capable of walking to the Slytherin dorms to get my charms book and then back up. I'm going to be late already; there is no reason for you to be late to!"

We had been back at school for two weeks, but everyone was still getting back into the swing of things. Currently, my Charms book was lying on my bed where I had left it after finishing the essay last night, but it was my Transfiguration book I had stuffed into my bag this morning.

"Harry, it's not safe for you to go by yourself, you know that, it's not safe for any of us, but especially not you-" protested Draco, glancing down the hall at the charms classroom where all of our friends had already disappeared into.

"Draco, I can take care of myself!" I snapped, glaring up at the blonde.

"But-"

"Harry, thank Merlin!" Pansy said as she skidded out of the Charms classroom. "I forgot my book and didn't want to go alone. Draco, go to class or you're going to get another detention for being late!" the girl scolded as she made her way to my side. "Common Harry, we have to hurry! Draco, tell Professor Flitwick where we are, yeah?"

Draco rubbed his temples before his shoulders slumped in defeat and he walked back into the classroom. Pansy grabbed my arm and began to pull me towards the dungeons.

"I don't know why I thought we had Transfiguration today." I complained as I sped up to walk next to her instead of be dragged behind her like a dog.

"You did to? What is wrong with us today?"

"Everything that's normally wrong with you, Slytherin." My heart dropped to my stomach and the jeer, and Pansy's hand tightened almost painfully around mine. Slowly we turned, standing as close to the corridor wall as we faced the two Hufflepuff boys who had been behind us. Hufflepuffs, that was a surprise, normally they left us alone.

"Shouldn't you be off with the rest of the second years?" Pansy said, her voice wavering a bit but not noticeably so to anyone who didn't know her.

"We're third years you stupid snakes!" one of them hissed. I felt my guts turning. Third year students knew significantly more spells then first years, even with what I head learned off my dad. If we didn't get a chance to run, we were going to end up in the hospital wing. One shared look with Pansy told me that she knew exactly what our situation was, same as me.

"What are you lot planning, wandering the halls during class?" the other boy said angrily, glaring at us as he took a threatening step towards us. I barely stopped myself from flinching back as I stared at the two with wide eyes.

"We just forgot our Charms books." I said quietly, wincing at how soft my voice was.

"Speak up!" snarled the one that was advancing on us. I did flinch back this time, much to my mortification. My hand was now clutching Pansy's as tightly as she was holding mine, and I was pretty sure that neither of us had any blood flow.

"We left our Charms books in our dorms." Pansy said, able to keep her voice loud enough to be heard. "What are you doing here? Classes just started."

"Why, mad that you got caught going to do whatever it was you were going to do?" the one who was still advancing obviously had far more of a grudge against Slytherins than his friend, who was hanging back but still glaring at us.

"Look, we are already late to class, we really just want to get our books and get back to Charms. Professor Flitwick will be expecting us back, we told him that we just needed to run down and get our books for the lesson." Pansy lied, keeping her chin up and looking steadily at the boys.

"I don't think so. Besides, it's not as if you know who we are in order to report us." The boy said, grinning while pulling his wand from his robe pocket. "Not that we would get in trouble for roughing up a few rule breaking snakes."

His companion walked up next to him, also pulling his wand out.

"What do you have to say for yourself? You might as well just tell us whatever it was that you were planning, because Flitwick wouldn't send you to go and get your book, those things are only used for homework. None of the Professors will be angry with us even if we curse you. So are you going to talk?"

"Professor Snape-" Pansy started, panicked by the sight of the wands she knew we couldn't protect ourselves from.

"Will never know this happened to his precious son and his son's little girlfriend." The boy cut in, raising his wand. "Adustio!"

"Protego!" the familiar shielding spell threw up a light blue wall in front of Pansy and I, who were now hugging each other close as the spell that looked like fire slammed into the shield before fizzling out.

Oliver Wood emerged from the shadows, where he had been coming around the corridor corner. To Pansy and my shock, the older Gryffindor stalked angrily over to the two Hufflepuff boys who looked just as surprised as Pansy and I.

"Just what do you think you are doing, shooting a spell like that at a couple of first years?" Wood demanded a furious expression on his face. "Come to think of it, where in Merlin's name did you even learn a spell like that? Do you know what it does?"

"It was in one of our history books, I thought it sounded funny when you said it out loud. Why?" asked the boy who had shot off the spell. The blue shielding spell was still pulsing in front of Pansy and I, and I allowed myself to relax a bit.

"Because if I hadn't been here to stop you, you would have killed those two first years! That spell would have burnt both of them so badly if it hit them from this close range that they would have been seriously disfigured if they managed to survive. Is that what you wanted to happened?" Spat Wood, his eyes wild as they shifted from one horrified boy to the other.

My grip on Pansy tightened, as did hers on me. Both of us were shaking uncontrollably, our eyes flicking nervously between the three boys that were separated from us by the blue shield.

"We didn't know." The boy would hadn't cast the spell whispered, looked at Pansy and I with absolutely no color in his face.

"You better not have." Wood hissed. "What are your names? I'll be reporting you to Professor Dumbledore. If you give me false names, I'll come after you myself."

"Clinton Presgraves and Cody Hemmer." The boy who shot the spell said instantly, not specifying who was who. Wood gave them a heated glare, then waved the off with his hand.

"Get out of my sight before I decide whatever Dumbledore will do isn't enough for the two of you to learn your lessons." The two boys dashed down the corridor and vanished, leaving Wood staring after them and Pansy and me staring at Wood.

The Irish Gryffindor turned back to us, the blue shield dissolving as he did so. By the time he was facing us the shield was gone, and the older boy was giving us an odd look.

"Well, it looks like Flint was right wasn't he? I apologize for not believing you lot." He muttered, obviously uncomfortable with the silence.

Pansy let go of me first, throwing herself at Wood. Her shoulders shook as she buried her face into the older Gryffindors robes, obviously sobbing although she made no sound. Wood looked down at her, his expression shocked, before he tentatively wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders.

My entire boy was shaking as Wood offered his other hand to me, and I grasped it, letting him pull me over to him, staying close to his side.

"Could…could you please take us to my father?" I whispered, looking at the floor, not very comfortable around Oliver Wood even if he was helping us at the moment.

"Of course lad."

Pansy and I were led down the silent halls, Pansy still crying and leaning into Oliver while I stood as close to him as I could be without touching him, his hand still tightly in my grasp. Part of me realized how childish we were acting, like scared five year olds, but I didn't care.

Oliver led us deeper and deeper into the dungeons before we finally reached my father's office, the portrait of Salazar Slytherin glaring down at Oliver. The Gryffindor swallowed hard before knocking firmly on the door, holding his head high.

"What do you-" Dad hadn't even opened the door fully when I flung myself at him, the tears I had been holding back spilling down my face. Dad caught me easily, having had to do so many times as my guardian.

**Severus POV **

As soon as I opened my portrait hole, a blur of black came flying at me, which I mentally deduced as Harry having been in this position many times previously. Reflexively I caught the boy, swinging him up so that one of my arms hooked behind his knees and the other caught him around the shoulders, pulling him up to my chest easily. Harry curled into me as soon as I had done so, hiding his face in my robes.

Looking up I found Oliver Wood, sixth year Gryffindor Perfect standing awkwardly in front of me, his arm around a shaking Pansy. My eyes narrowed, but I stepped backward into my chambers.

"You may as well come in Mr. Wood; it would seem you have a lot of explaining to do." I said sharply. The boy gave a sharp nod and led Pansy into my office, steering the girl to the couch and sitting her down before straightening up to look at me.

I ignored him, pacing the length of my office while reciting how to make the polyjuice potion out loud in my lecture tone. Within the first six steps, both first year Slytherins were fast asleep. Wood still stood in the same place, looking at me in confusion as I fell silent and laid Harry on the couch next to Pansy, casting a silencing spell over the two of them before taking a seat behind my desk. Gesturing to the chair in front of my desk, I raised an eyebrow at Wood. The Gryffindor scampered into the chair, looking at me warily.

"Now, why don't you explain to me why you have shown up with two of my Slytherin first years to my office in the middle of class? You're lucky Mr. Wood that this is my free hour, what would you have done had it not been?" I sneered, looking down my nose at the sixth year. Lowering my voice I added "One of which is my son. Answer carefully Mr. Wood; Mr. Flint told me all about what happened before the holidays."

"I have study hall this hour sir. I found two Hufflepuffs attempting to hex these two, though I am unsure as to why they were out in the halls, as I couldn't get a word out of them on the way down here. Only Harry spoke, and he just asked me to bring them to you, nothing else." Wood's voice didn't shake as he spoke, which I found fairly impressive, not that I would ever admit it out loud.

"Did you get names?" I demanded.

"Of course sir, I plan to have a meeting with Professor Dumbledore this evening about what happened. I'm also going to mention at this meeting that perhaps professor Binns should mention to his classes that spells from the history book should not be used on other students."

My blood nearly reached boiling point as I closed my eyes, forcing my emotions back under my control as my thoughts roared. Whatever spell had been used would have been either severely wounding or even fatal to my son and his friend if they had come from the history books, had the Gryffindor not shown up. And if I wasn't at this meeting with the Headmaster, it would be swept under the rug as 'boys will be boys' yet again. I couldn't allow that to happen.

"I'd be very interested to be a part of this meeting. Exactly when do you plan on taking this to the Headmaster?" I asked Wood slowly, folding my hands on my desk in front of me. All I needed was the time, because if I arrived in the Headmasters office for a meeting pertaining to two of my students I could hardly be asked to leave.

"I was going to go after dinner, could you walk me? I know that Professor Dumbledore just changed his office password, but he hasn't given it to the perfects yet. I was going to try to get it out of Professor McGonagall, but if you're going to attend the meeting anyway…" my respect for the Gryffindor grew, even though to my amusement he looked as pale as a ghost, his hands shaking slightly.

"The password is truffle. I'm afraid that I have something to attend to during dinner, but I will be at this meeting. Alert me if you decide to change the time, as I really do feel I need to be present at this gathering. My first years were directly affected, this concerns me."

"Dumbledore will surely call you up though; Professor McGonagall is called to our meetings with the Headmaster whenever a Gryffindor gets in trouble-"

"PROFESSOR SNAPE! PROFESSOR SNAPE! Draco just found me in the common room, Harry and Pansy left when Charms started to go get their text books, but they never came back, and Professor Flitwick wouldn't let Draco leave to go look for them! No one in Slytherin has seen them in the corridors, and-"

Marcus Flint froze in the doorway of my office, his eyes narrowing when he saw Oliver Wood sitting in front of me.

"Was it him? Did he do something? Did you already find them? I swear on my magic Wood if you did something to either of those first years I will end you." The boy growled, stalking towards my desk.

"Calm yourself Marcus." I said sharply. Marcus froze, still glaring at Wood. "Mr. Wood brought Mr. Potter and Miss. Parkinson to me after defending them in the corridors." I gestured with my hand to the couch, where Harry and Pansy had maneuvered in their sleep to be curled around each other. Marcus strode over to the two sleeping first years, his jaw tightening as he stopped the tear tracks on both small faces.

"You're positive that he wasn't involved sir?" Marcus demanded, his eyes meeting mine.

"I came down here didn't I?" Wood snapped. "Why would I come all the way down to Snape if it had been me?"

"I ask because I know of people who, if they just cursed two Gryffindors unconscious, would go straight to McGonagall with them claiming that they just found them in the corridor." Snarled Marcus, his hands tightening into fists as he came up to stand next to Wood in front of my desk. Obviously uncomfortable with Marcus having a height advantage while he was sitting, Wood stood up as well, looking between Marcus and I as the Slytherin boy turned back to me. "Professor?"

"Mr. Wood was not involved; the little ones just exhausted themselves. Thanks to Mr. Wood, they were not cursed at all." I said softly, knowing that Marcus was simply a word away from hexing the Gryffindor next to him into a bed at the hospital wing. As said Gryffindor had just protected my son I felt that it would be inappropriate to allow Marcus to curse him.

"Do I need to get them anything?" Marcus asked, his shoulders relaxing a bit. "And I assume the attackers have been properly taken care of."

"No, we are fine here Marcus. As for the two attackers, Headmaster Dumbledore and I have yet to discuss that. Now the two of you need to leave, or you will be late for dinner." Having had me as a teacher for nearly six full years, both boys saw the dismissal and moved towards the door. "Mr. Wood, I will see you after dinner."

**Oliver Wood POV**

"I bet you were shocked, weren't you?" sneered Flint, looking down at me sideways without turning his head towards me. I scowled, hating that he was two inches taller than I was.

"What are you talking about Flint?" I snapped, annoyed.

"When they started crying. I bet you were shocked."

I shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to admit that I had been. Flint snorted, rolling his eyes before looking at me, his eyes hard.

"That's a yes, you were. Merlin, you all are unbelievable. Just because Slytherins can hold themselves us and together most of the time no matter what is thrown at us, you all forget that our first years are only eleven, just like yours. Our second years are only twelve, just like yours. They still get scared, they still get upset by pointless things, but Slytherins hide it as to not be teased." His upper lip curled in disgust. "But they must not be, because Slytherins don't have souls, don't have feelings, everyone knows that."

"Okay Flint, I get it, you were right! The other houses are horrible to Slytherin, I get it now!" I growled. "You can shut up now, or do you want to say 'I told you so' as well?"

"It's not about being right Wood." Flint said coldly. My stomach twisted, as Flint's quiet biting voice was something I wasn't use to. Most of the time he was yelling at me, or we were hexing each other. "You wouldn't understand."

By now we had reached the great hall, and before I could respond Flint had thrown the doors open and stalked inside, taking a sharp turn to go to the Slytherin table. My eyes narrowed as I watched him go before I walked calmly to the Gryffindor table, greeting my friends with a grin.

What wouldn't I understand?

**Was that too soon to involve Marcus and Oliver again? I dunno, I felt like this needed to be here…Meeting with Dumbleydore comes next! REVIEW AND I'LL WRITE FASTER INSTEAD OF READING MY AP PSYCH BOOK!**


	11. Madam Sprout's Spine

**Ooooooooh meeting in Dumbledores office! Whats gonna happen? I KNOW! But you have to read to find out, suckers! (Perhaps someone needs to monitor my sugar intake…) ENJOY! Also, I know that I swore only to use Severus and Harry's POV, but its fanfiction, I can do what I want and I do this crap for fun. I think that this part of the story comes best from Oliver's POV, its cooler that way. :D**

**Oliver Wood POV**

Neither of the Hufflepuffs would look Headmaster Dumbledore nor myself in the eyes. But while I was glowering at the boys, the Headmaster was simply sitting in his chair, smiling down at them sympathetically. I was sitting in a chair to the Headmasters left, while the boys were in two chairs directly in front of the Headmaster.

"Now Mr. Presgraves and Mr. Hemmer, Mr. Wood here tells me that you two were found fighting in the corridors?" Dumbledore started, folding his hands on his desk. I frowned. Why hadn't the Headmaster summoned Madame Sprout? Or Professor Snape? Professor McGonagall was always there when a Gryffindor was getting in trouble.

"Not just a fight Headmaster, they were hexing unarmed first years who didn't have their wands out." I corrected.

"Did you see the entire fight Mr. Wood? How can you be sure that these two were the two that started it?"

Before I could explain to the Headmaster what had happened because he didn't seem to have understood it the first time I did so, the office door flew open and Snape stalked in, his robes doing that creepy billowing thing around him as he came stalking up to the right of the Headmasters desk, the only place that wasn't occupied.

"Severus, I wasn't expecting you." The Headmaster said cheerfully, sitting up a bit. "Would you like a lemon drop?"

"No Albus, I do not want any of your disgusting muggle candy that you so love. I am here to oversee the punishment of these two boys who attacked two members of my house, as is traditional. When will Pomona be here?" Snape drawled, giving the Headmaster the look of distain he normally saved for Gryffindors.

"I hadn't called her; this is a simple matter that I thought could be easily resolved by myself and the boys." Dumbledore said, smiling at the now scowling Snape.

"This matter is anything but simple Headmaster. Two first years could have been killed; I do not understand how you can think this is not an issue. I would have thought that Mr. Wood would have made the situation clear to you- as he did when he told it to me." I wasn't positive if there had actually been a mocking undertone to that, or if I had just imagined Snape suggesting that the Headmaster couldn't understand.

"Surely you understand Severus that first years exaggerate when they tell stories. You've been a teacher for many years now." The Headmaster said, looking over his glasses at Snape as if scolding my potions professor. I watched them, frowning in confusion.

"I suggest Headmaster, that you summon Pomona. We have much to discuss." Snape said sharply. "Feel free to use your personal floo; I will wait here with the students."

"Very well Severus, if you insist on blowing this out of proportion and complicating everyone's day, I will fetch her." The Headmaster heaved a sigh, standing up from his chair.

"My son is asleep curled around his best friend in my guest bedroom, both exhausted from the stress of today. In my opinion, Headmaster, preventing that from happening to other students is a priority I find worthy of my attention." Snape said in that weird drawling tone. Dumbledore just smiled and moved towards a door in the back of the office, vanishing through it.

For once Snape's glare was not on the Gryffindor in the room, and for that I was grateful.

"Mr. Wood, I trust that you do not have any prior obligations this evening? This may take a while." Snape said, not looking at me even as he spoke, keeping the two Hufflepuffs cowering in their seats.

"Just curfew Professor Snape." I said, unused to the snarky dungeons bat being polite to me. In my first year he was snarky and hated the Gryffindors with a passion, and he hadn't changed a bit in the four years he was gone. Except now he would sometimes blame our incompetence on the professor that had replaced him. "Are Harry and Pansy alright? The twins will have my head if I let something happen to them, inadvertently or not."

"Both are fine, no thanks to these two." Growled the Professor. Internally I winced. I had been trying to create small talk, not get Snape even angrier with the two third years I was nearly starting to feel bad for.

By the time Dumbledore returned with Madam Sprout, I was standing awkwardly to the side while the two boys looked ready to sell their souls to anyone who promised to make Snape stop looking at them like he was decided which illegal potion would be best to use their body parts in.

**Severus POV**

I looked up when Dumbledore and Pomona walked into the room from the Headmasters private office, Pomona looking confused as she was led into the room. When she saw me standing next to her two students, her expression darkened.

"Severus? What has happened?" she asked, walking up to stand next to me. "As none of your students are here, I assume that it was mine at fault. No one is in the hospital wing I hope?"

"Now, there is no pr-"

"I think that Mr. Wood would be the best person to tell us what exactly happened earlier today, as the other four involved are either indisposed or in the wrong." I cut in smoothly, ignoring the Headmaster in favor of giving the older Gryffindor my best 'do-as-I-say-or-no-one-will-find-your-body' look.

"Of course Professor Snape." Wood said, nodding his head in my direction before turning to Pomona. The Herbology teacher looked a bit surprised, and I smirked. A Gryffindor showing me respect; seems the apocalypse has come.

"I was walking down the corridors during last hour today, as I have just my perfect duties last hour, and I came across them in the hall. These two had cornered two Slytherin first years, neither of which had their wands out. I was just in time, because as I came around the corner the Adustio curse was cast. I was able to shield the first years from it in time, but had I not been there it would have been fatal."

"They attempted to murder first year students?" Pomona exclaimed, looking at her students in horrified shock.

"No Madam Sprout, they did not know what the spell would do. They had simply found it in their history books and thought it sounded funny. The expression on their faces when I told them what it would have done is enough to show they had no idea what they were doing." Wood said firmly, nodding as if supporting his own observations.

"There was no malicious intent I believe." The Headmaster said, smiling at the two third year boys who were still cowering in their chairs.

"Regardless of their intent, this is unacceptable! I expect better of my Puff's, both of you know that!" Pomona had moved to stand in front of her students, her hands on her hips as she scowled down at them, lips pursed.

This is why I respect Pomona so much. Besides the fact that as the potions master of the school I nearly had to be on good terms with the master of the greenhouses, the Herbology professor and I understood each other, and had something similar to friendship between us. Unlike most of the professors, Pomona doesn't look down upon my snakes- and therefore would not let her students get away with doing something this heinous, not even with Dumbledore pushing her.

Her students knew this as well, as both boys began babbling.

"Madam Sprout, we didn't know it would do that, the spell I mean, if we had known that we would never have used it, Franny made it sound like it wasn't a curse, more like a joke hex when we were writing our essays for history of magic, and since she always gets good marks-"

"It doesn't matter! You should not even have been casting joke spells at first years, first years without their wands out! For the love of Merlin, hexing first years is a high offence as it is, but first years with no wands-"

"Pomona, it cannot be proved that the first years never had their wands out, as Mr. Wood was not there for the entire fight." Dumbledore protested. "You needn't be so harsh on the boys; they are just being boys, trying to prank younger students."

"The intent to prank becomes invalid when there is intent to harm along with it." Pomona said shortly. "There is one easy way to clear up what happened though isn't there Headmaster? Boys, did either Mr. Snape or Miss. Parkinson have their wands out at any time during your encounter? I'll know if either of you try to lie to me."

"No, no they didn't have their wands out; I don't even know if they had their wands!" Presgraves said, wringing his hands together.

"We approached them with our wands out, but they never drew theirs!" Hemmer added, looking just as frightened as his companion.

"We just saw them walking around in the corridors during class, and we thought they might be up to something sneaking around like that…so….umm…"

"What damage, exactly Mr. Presgraves, did the two of you think that two first years were going to cause?" Pomona growled, he arms that had been crossed over her chest moving to her hips. "Well? I'm waiting for an answer boys."

"I don't know, their Slytherins, their always up to something!"

**Oliver POV**

My frowned deepened at the Hufflepuff boy's defense for their actions. Sure, when I saw a group of Slytherins walking down the hall way I tended to keep on my toes, everyone did, but they weren't always up to something…not always something bad anyway. I highly doubted that two Slytherin first years walking down the corridor at the beginning of class appeared threatening. Two first years of any house were normally just dismissed, unless a perfect or older year students stopped to see if they needed help finding their way!

Even with Dumbledore advocating for the two boys, Madam Sprout seemed to be following with my line of thinking, and Professor Snape was staying oddly quiet.

"They are eleven years old! What could they possibly be up to boys?" both boys looked down at their feet, refusing to meet their enraged head of house's gaze. "As third year students, your job is to see if you can assist the first years of any house that you find wandering in the hall, not curse them! You have shamed our house, acting like this! One hundred points from Hufflepuff- EACH. And detention with me every other night until the end of this school year!"

"But…that's five months!" protested one of the boys.

"I've very aware of how long that is Mr. Presgraves." Madam Sprout said coldly. "Don't test me or it will be every night, do you understand me?"

"Yes Madam Sprout." The boy said quietly, sinking into his chair.

"You're both lucky that I haven't decided to expel you! One more toe out of line and don't doubt that I will!"

"Pomona, I still think that you are over reacting-"

"Well it doesn't really matter, as it's my right as head of house to decide their punishment. I've heard your input Headmaster, and I respectfully disagree." Madam Sprout said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You may leave Mr. Wood. Thank you for your assistance." Professor Snape said quietly from next to me, making me jump. When the potions master raised his eyebrow at me, I gave a quick nod and hurried out of the room, taking a deep breath when the door closed behind me.

Why did the Headmaster try so hard to get those Hufflepuffs off the hook? It was ridiculous; they had almost killed two first years, accident or not something like that couldn't go unpunished!

Starting down the corridor, I clenched my teeth. If the two first years that were almost killed were in Gryffindor, the uproar would demand that whatever students that did it were punished, and even once they were punished my house mates would extract their own revenge for the wrongs done against us. Ravenclaws would all crack open their wizarding law books, and if Hufflepuffs had been attacked everyone would have been offended on behalf of the sweet innocent Hufflepuffs.

So why was it so different with Slytherin?

**Severus POV**

"Thank you Pomona." I said softly as we walked back down the stairs towards the main hall.

"Don't thank me Severus; I only did what was right. You know that as well as I do." Pomona said with a scoff.

"What was right, yes. What everyone else would have done, no. Most of the Professors here would be happy to do everything our esteemed Headmaster suggests, without question. I suppose thinking further than their mastered subject is hard for them…" Pomona snorted at my comment, and nodded.

"Well, us brainiacs have to stick together don't we Severus?" the plump woman teased me, her eyes sparkling.

"That we do Pomona." I agreed.

"I'll see you tomorrow when you come get your ingredients from my greenhouses, yes?"

"Of course."

"Goodnight dungeon dweller- I don't know how you stand that…"

"Goodnight Pomona, do have fun with your dirt."

**SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG! D:**


	12. Twins Revenge

**See, I'm doing better, this one was up way faster than the last one! Not...that... thats much of an improvement...BUT STILL! Thank you for all your kind reviews, and lets get on with this yeah? :D**

**Harry POV**

"Draco, stop hovering!" I snapped, pushing my older brother away with a glare. "I need some room to breathe!"

"Well last time you told me not to worry you almost got killed by some moronic Hufflepuffs!" Draco hissed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at me with narrowed eyes.

"You don't think I know that?" I said back, feeling my voice go up a few octaves without my permission. Clearing my throat I tried to get my voice back under my control. "I am very aware of what almost happened, as is Pansy."

At the same time both of our gazes shifted to Pansy, who had hardly spoken at all since yesterday when Dad walked us to our dorm rooms. Pansy was sitting on the couch, back straight, hazel eyes staring straight ahead while Theo sat next to her, book open on his lap while he stared worriedly at her.

Blaise was on the other side of the room, talking with Marcus as both of them surveyed the Slytherins gathered in the common room. Marcus was the excepted head of Slytherin house next to Dad, even though he wasn't a seventh year. Apparently it had been like that since Marcus's fifth year- he just had the leadership skills that no one wanted to challenge him.

No one had left for breakfast yet- a true feat, as normally half the house was gone by this time. Obviously, the attack on Pansy and I shook up the entire house.

"Alright, listen up!" Marcus said loudly, his voice travelling through the instantly silent common room. The last few Slytherins hurried down the dorm stairs, taking places next to their friends. All eyes were on Marcus, who moved to the entrance to the common room and up two of the stairs so that everyone could see him. "There has been an attack on our own- this is unacceptable. For those of you who have not heard, yesterday during last hour, two Hufflepuffs attacked two of our unarmed first years...not that it would have mattered had they been armed. Only one curse was used- but it was a deadly one." the house instantly broke into muttering, but Marcus just spoke over them. "Had it not been for Gryffindor Oliver Wood, Harry Potter and Pansy Parkinson would not be with us this morning."

Cries of outrage filled the room, and for a moment Marcus just stood there, a glower on his face, allowing the house to vent their anger. Then he held up a hand, and the room fell silent again.

"It goes without saying that no one will be traveling alone, not any time soon. I want everyone in groups of four or more, preferably more, and first, second and third years need to have escorts by older students. We will not stand for these attacks, we will protect ourselves. Both breakfast and dinner will be attended as a house. We will arrive together and leave together. While walking there, the younger you are the closer I want you to the middle of the group. We will show the other houses our unity and strength."

"What about Oliver Wood? We owe him." someone said from closer to Marcus than I was.

"That is true, we do owe Oliver Wood for protecting ours as he would his own. But he is a Gryffindor, and doesn't know the extent we place on such matters. Therefore we will...we will publicly thank him in the Great Hall at the end of Breakfast, then discuss anything further at the house meeting before dinner."

Agreement rang out in the crowd, and Marcus turned towards the doors after giving us a nod.

"Come on." Blaise said, an arm around Theo and Pansy as he led them towards Blaise

and I. Draco slung his arm around my shoulders as well, and we fell into formation with the rest of the house, making our way out into the corridor.  
>I leaned into my brother as we walked towards the Great Hall, the entire group silent. Every single person in Slytherin house was walking silently to the Great Hall. Not one word was said as we walked, which was perfectly fine with me.<br>The Great Hall fell silent as we walked in, every other student looking at us in shock as the entire Slytherin house walked in at once, the older students standing while the younger years sat down first.

Blaise, Pansy, and Theo sat across from Draco and I, Marcus taking the other seat next to me. I smiled at the older boy, then looked up at the Head table. Every Professor was looking at our table. Dad was looking at us with approval and pride, as was Madam Sprout and Hagrid. Dumbledore lips were pursed and his eyes narrowed, and both Flitwick and McGonagall were just staring at us in confusion, along with the rest of the Professors.

"I think we made an impression." Marcus said in amusement, grinning at me. I smiled back, nodding.

"I think that Harry and Pansy should point out who exactly at the Hufflepuff table were their attackers so that I can find them later. Everyone wearing yellow either looks ready to wet themselves or looks like they respect us, so I can't really figure it out myself." Blaise growled, eyes narrowed at the Hufflepuff table. Glancing down our table I realised he wasn't the only one- more than half of the Slytherins were giving the Hufflepuffs their best death glare.

"No Blaise. They were punished. Not as severely as I would have liked, but they were punished. How does attacking them outright prove that we are any better than they are?" Marcuse said firmly, giving my Italian friend a warning look.

"Certainly would make me feel better." Draco muttered from next to me, sharing a knowing look with Blaise.

"Oh, we will get them. But not openly, like how I am imagining the two of you will want to do. No...Professor Snape gave me their names. Those two Hufflepuffs are going to find themselves having some very bad luck very soon. What was that muggle word your Gryffindor friend used? Bad karma." Marcus's face morphed into the evil vindictive expression that was stereotypical for Slytherins. For a moment, I almost felt bad for the two boys that had tried to kill Pansy and I...

Almost.

Breakfast came to a close, but before anyone had the chance to leave, Marcus stood up. Everyone at our table followed, standing up and facing the Gryffindor table. Slowly the hall fell silent as the rest of the halls occupants noticed that we were standing, all looking at us in confusion. Marcus cleared his throat, eyes shifting to look back at all of us before he looked back at the Gryffindor table with determination, his eyes seeking out and locking with Oliver Wood's.

"On behalf of Slytherin house I, Marcus Flint, issue a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Oliver Wood for protecting two of our first years when none of us were there and able to do so. You have our respect and our gratitude Mr. Wood." Marcus said, his voice ringing out clearing through the hall.

The Gryffindors all looked skeptical, their eyes widening when Marcus bowed completely in half, followed by every single member of the Slytherin house. I may be young, but I am old enough to know that bowing like that is a great sign of respect.

Oliver's mouth actually dropped open in his surprise, his eyes freakishly wide as he stared after us as Marcus led us out of the hall without another word.

~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~

"PANSY! HARRY!" I stumbled to the side as Hermione collided with me, jumping just as quickly from me to Pansy with tears in her eyes. "I can't believe someone would do something like this! How could they just attack you like that? Oh if I had been there I would have just..."

"Miss Granger, it would be wonderful if you would cease your shrieking, I value my hearing thanks." Marcus muttered rubbing his ear that was facing Hermione with a wince. The bushy haired girl blushed, the shook it off and began trying to get Pansy to talk with her. Neville came up to me and put his hand on my arm.

"You alright there Harry?" he asked quietly, concern obvious on his face.

"Yeah Nev, I'm alright." I answered, smiling at the other shy boy in our group. "Marcus is going to be walking us to class for a bit though, I hope you and Monie don't mind."

Marcus had taken it upon himself to be our personal escort, even without my Dad asking him to. Personally I thought that Blaise had something to do with it, as he and Marcus were always talking in shadows and in the back corners of rooms.

"Yes, if we can go now? I have a class I need to go to as well, remember that you little trolls." Marcus said, quirking an eyebrow at us. Blaise moved behind the rest of us, gesturing for us to start walking. I frowned, thinking that all this was doing was drawing more attention to us. It was a little overboard in my opinion, I mean sure something bad happened but bad things happen all the time...

When I voiced this, Draco simply smacked me over the back of the head and said "Just because you don't care about what happens to do doesn't mean the rest of us don't. Moron."

"Can't we be hobbits Mr. Flint?" Hermione asked, grinning up at the Slytherin prefect who just looked confused.

"Can we be what?" asked Pansy. Hermione looked put out.

"So hobbits aren't actually real? When I couldn't find them in any books in the library I figured they wouldn't be, but I had hoped they were; I would have loved to visit a shire." Monie said with a sigh.

"Real or not, I would much rather be a hobbit than a troll." I said, smiling when Monie grinned at me.

"I forgot you know about muggle stuff Harry! Its nice to not be the only one who knows what I'm talking about." the Gryffindor girl said happily while the purebloods surrounding us just looked at us in confusion. "Also, Harry, you should probably know that the twins are furious. I have no idea planning, but its probably going to be-"

"Absolutely awesome." Draco broke in, sharing a smirk with Blaise. "Those two will ensure that those damn Huffilypuffs wish they had never stepped foot into Hogwarts!"

~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~

"Weasleys or not, Gryffindors or not, I like those two." Marcus said, unable to keep the grin off his face as he stared blatantly at the Hufflepuff table where two boys were sitting with purple skin with polka dots that alternated between neon blue and neon orange and barf green hair, with the words "For my crimes I serve the sentence of a W.W.W test subject." flashing above their heads. I giggled, my hand covering my mouth as the twins gave me extremely exaggerated winks from two tables over.

"I love those guys." Draco said happily. "I'm going to save this memory in my fathers pensive. I think he'd enjoy, dont you guys agree? Their hair still annoys me though, it's such a violent color..."

"I like it." Pansy said, rolling her eyes at Draco and then playfully glaring at him. "So much so I was thinking about changing your white locks to match while you sleep."

"Woman, you wouldn't dare!" Draco spluttered, all traces of amusement vanishing from his features as one of his hands came up to his beloved hair automatically.

"Carefully there Pansy, remember when Harry turned his hair pink when we were nine? The only reason he didn't kill him was because Harry is like half our size and adorable."

"And he was hiding behind Uncle Severus before I could get my hands on him, bloody cheater." Draco growled, glaring at me as I smiled innocently at him.

"I'm a Slytherin Draco, that means I can prank you and then have the self preservation skills to escape being brutally murdered by you. And as my father is a Slytherin, he knows to watch and make sure you don't extract revenge on me. Its a perfect set up...for one of us." I said quietly. Marcus, Blaise and two of Marcus's friends that were sitting next to us burst out laughing, while Theo just grinned and shook his head. Pansy was smirking at Draco, who was glowering down at his breakfast.

"Potter, you should talk more, you're brilliant!" the taller boy with dark hair that was sitting on the other side of Marcus said, leaning over to that he could smile at me. He was almost as big as Marcus, with the same sharp features that most of the purebloods seemed to have, and his eyes were an odd light blue. I felt my face heat up and I looked back down at my plate, moving my eggs around with my fork.

"Leave the kid alone Adrian." Marcus said, shoving his friend with his shoulder playfully. "He's got his reasons for being quiet, just as I'm sure you have yours for being so bloody loud all the time." Marcus then ducked as Ardian swiped at him, mock scowling at his friend.

"I'm not loud you prat!"

"Sure you aren't Pucey." snickered the other boy, stealing a roll from Adrians plate.

"You- Terrence! Why would you steal my food when the roll basket is literally right in front of you?" Adrian protested, glaring at Terrence.

"Because its far more satisfying to know that you wanted it but now can't have it because I took it from you. I don't really want it all that much...I just don't want you to have it." Terrence said smugly before taking a giant bite out of the stolen roll.

"Bloody little-"

"Watch it!" Marcus cut in. "There are little ears around. The...what did Granger call you munchins?"

"Hobbits." I supplied.

"I like it. Yes, the hobbits need not hear such language!" Marcus finished, glaring playfully at his friends.

"And Monie doesn't believe me that the Slytherin table is just as chaotic as the Gryffindor table..." muttered Theo under his breath.

**SORRY I'M LATE AGAIN- I got into college tho. BOO YEAH. ;) **


	13. Friends in High Places?

**I'm a horrible person. I'm so sorry. I've just been so busy that everything has just been like AHHHHHHHHHHH ESSAYS FINALS WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING IN SCHOOL FOR THREE WEEKS WHERE IS ALL THIS COMING FROM? Yup. All nighters suck when you're reading about the Psychology of Nazis. Then two week vacation then working a crap ton to make up for taking two weeks off...Annnnyway... **

**Severus POV**

"I see that Mr. Flint seems to have adopted your son Severus." Pomona mused, looking down at the Slytherin table from her place next to me. My eyes followed her gaze, seeing Marcus Flint and his friends sitting far closer to the first years then they ever had since they themselves were first years.

"My house as only been strengthened by the unfortunate events of the other night." I commented, looking down at my students with pride.

"And this morning with Mr. Wood? Very impressive Severus, you have taught your students well. I'm very embarrassed by my own students actions- we will be having nightly house meetings for nights to come. Though, I'm not positive I know how to reverse what the Weasley twins have done..." The herbology Professor threw a sour look at her two colorful students.

"If you undid it, the twins would simply come up with something worse." I reasoned, smirking at her.

"Precisely." Pomona said happily. "And hopefully by the end of all this those two will have learned their lesson...they truly didn't mean to, but magic is dangerous. I think many professors have lost sight of teaching that, especially to the muggle borns. All they see is a world of wonder and beauty...but to master magic, they must understand both sides."

"It's not only professors that have lost sight of that Pomona, its the world."

"What do you mean?" the woman asked, looking up at me with her eyebrows raised.

"To label magic as light and dark, and then to ban everything dark is thrusting our country out of balance- I suppose I shouldn't say the world, because only Britain and few other countries are stupid enough to allow this to happen." I growled out. "At school dark magic isn't taught for any reason, and the house with the most parents who see fit to teach their children the different magics is scorned by the rest of the school. Some families are so brainwashed against the darker side of magic that they scorn anyone that is even rumored to use it, seeing them as horrid, immoral people. Tell me Pomona, where is the balance in that?"

"I've had more than older student bring me a confused pureblood first year to complain about their use of 'dark magic'." Pomona sighed. "Once again you are correct Severus- it's one of your more irritating traits."

Before I could reply, my entire house rose, and exited the room together once more, the older students making sure that the younger students did not lag behind as they made their way out of the great hall, to the dungeons. Everyone in the hall watched, some muttering to their friends about the strange occurrence.

"It must warm your heart to see that..." Pomona sighed. "I wish my house could bring themselves together like that."

"It should not be necessary." I hissed. The herbology professor just looked at me sadly. I turned away, knowing exactly what she was thinking. If my house acted as all the others did, my students would be slowly picked off one by one, getting to the breaking point where they would allow their parents to transfer them to out of country schools. First years in my office asking why being in Slytherin is so bad isn't uncommon in the first few weeks of school- when many of the friends they made on the train to Hogwarts turn their back on them because of what their elder house mates have told them of my own house.

"One day it won't be Severus." Pomona said quietly.

"One day." I agreed, standing up. "But I fear that I will not live to see that day. Goodnight Pomona."

**Oliver Wood POV**

"It's kind of creepy how they all get up and go like that. They aren't even talking!" I heard Lee Jordan whisper.

"But can you blame them? Two of their first years got attacked and almost killed while they were going back to the dorms! What would we have done if that had happened to Ron and Dean?" hissed Percy Weasley, glaring at Lee who shrank back with his hands up.

"Did you ever figure out what the thing that happened this morning was about?" Angelina asked me, poking some potatoes with a fork while looking at me. "Because I haven't seen anything like that in my life."

"No...But I'm going to find out." I said, standing up as the last Slytherin left the Great Hall. I'll meet you guys back in the common room, ok?"

I didn't wait for anyone to answer me, sprinting out of the Great Hall and down the corridor that led to the dungeons. The group of Slytherins was nowhere to be seen, so I frowned and sped up. How could they be moving so fast with all their younger years? I rounded two corners before they came into sight.

"Flint, can I talk to you?" I called down the corridor, jogging a bit to catch up to the giant group of Slytherins. Every student froze and turned to look at me, some with wide eyes and some with blank stares. Flint extracted himself from the mob, glancing back at two of his friends from our year.

"Adrian, Terrence, you can handle from here. I'll be back within an hour, don't let the house descend into chaos while I'm gone boys." The two other Slytherins nodded before continuing to herd their house down to the dungeons. Flint watched them go, and once they had rounded the corner he turned back to me. "What is it Wood?"

"Flint...I...what was that thing a breakfast today?" I blurted out. Flint raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"How...eloquent Wood." he snorted. I flushed, giving him a weak scowl. His features arranged themselves into a more serious expression. "It's a tradition, most families don't follow it anymore. Slytherin house has always found importance in acknowledging those who have...done right by us."

"But I only did what anyone-"

"Wrong." Flint cut me off sharply, eyes narrowed. "More than once I have had house members in the hospital wing who have 'gotten what they deserved'. You did us a rare service in our eyes Oliver, and for that you have gained yourself an entire house of allies."

"Why would I need an entire house of allies?" my confusion was clear, but it didn't seem to faze Flint.

"One never knows when one will need a friend, in low or high places. Now, I must be getting back before Adrian sends out a search party. Guy tends to be a bit paranoid, you know?" Flint commented with a smirk before turning and striding down the hall. "I'll see you tomorrow in charms Wood."

Dumbstruck I stared after him long after he had rounded the corner. Friends in low or high places? Wait a second, had he used my first name in that conversation? When did Slytherins become so bloody confusing?

Whirling around I bee-lined for Gryffindor tower, my face scrunched up in thought. I muttered the password and flung the portrait shut behind me, gaining the attention of everyone in the common room. My eyes flitted over every face until I found the two identicals ones I was searching for.

"Fred, George!" I called, striding over to them. Raising my voice had been unnecessary as the entire common room had fallen silent, all eyes on me. "You two were raised alongside Slytherins...didn't Snape watch you and your siblings sometimes or something?"

"Yeah, thats right!" sneered the twin to the right.

"What of it?" The twin to the left asked, grinning at me.

"What does it mean when someone tells you that you now have friends in low and high places? Because when Flint said that it kinda seemed like it was illegal or something." I asked, ignoring the rest of the house.

"Slytherin is threatening you?" squealed one of the younger years.

"No, because if they were threatening me he wouldn't have told me that all of Slytherin are now my allies." I still wasn't positive what I needed 'allies' for in school, but I wasn't going to question that just yet.

"Congrats Oliver, you're on the same level as us family members! George, can you believe this?" exclaimed Fred.

"Its unbelievable Fred! See Oliver, what this means is that next time you are caught, say, dueling in the hallways with some Ravenclaw or something, the closest Slytherin younger year will swear up and down while trembling that you were protecting them. No detention!"

"That would be your 'friends in low places', it's the little things!" Fred but in, giving me two thumbs up.

"Right! And then say next year when you are applying for a job, you'll have a lot of options because any family business with any child in Slytherin will have you recommended, or if you're in a scrape you might just end up with the best lawyer money can buy-"

"FREE of are your friends in high places. Basically, you are pretty much set for life."

"Unless you do something stupid." George added.

"So don't do anything stupid." Fred finished before both beamed at me.

I simply blinked at them, completely disbelieving what they had just told me. The rest of the house looked similar, except for the other two Weasleys.

"Thats a lie, and the last part has to be illegal!" snapped one of the fourth years, looking annoyed.

"You're just jealous that all you've done is tease the Slytherins, now that you know what being friends with them can get you." snorted Ron, shaking his head. "Harry and I aren't the best of friends, or friends at all really, but I know that if I was in trouble he would have my back. Dean and Seamus on the other hand would probably leave me to Filch!"

"Bloody right we would." Seamus said, grinning.

"Ever seen a Slytherin talk their way out of trouble? Its very impressive. And it's ridiculously easy for them to convince Professors that other people didn't do something wrong, because why would a Slytherin vouch for a Gryffindor if it wasn't true?" Fred added.

"Adrian Pucey tutored me in potions after I mended one of Draco's quills. They are very into give and take. Once you have their respect, it opens a two way road." Percy put in, shocking the rest of the house.

"Wait, you needed tutoring in something?" Lee exclaimed. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Potions are very complex, and you cannot receive all of the information you need to be successful for text books alone unless you have an affinity towards the subject." Percy said stiffly, his nose in the air.

"We know you're smart Percy, no need to get defensive." Angelina snickered, grinning at the oldest Weasley present.

"But only Flint has been talking to Oliver, so not all of Slytherin is going to help him." a random fourth year snorted.

"Dude, the Slytherins have this like..."Ron paused, trying to think of the right word.

"Hierarchy." Percy supplied.

"Yeah, that, where they all like...rely on each other. Flint is like, one step below Snape. Any Slytherin with a problem would go to Flint before any other teacher if Snape was unavailable." the first year Weasley attempted to explain, smiling proudly when he finished.

"Dunno why you guys don't like them so much, it's useful to have friends with a few tricks up their sleeves!" Fred exclaimed, George and him giving the room exaggerated winks.

Oliver just sat down, deep in thought as his house descended into arguing chaos over the issue he had brought up.

**WEIRD CHAPTER I'M SORRY next one I have plans for so it will be longer and better!**  
><strong>-Pix <strong>


	14. Wolf Passing Through

**I'm the worst person ever. I'm sorry I don't update often (or at all recently)! :P Job hunting sucks. Just to let you all know.** **Annnnd I got a new laptop that does not Word or any other document anything, so I haven't actually been able to post chapters! And to be honest the motivation for this is a little low...hey, if any of you like the avengers I posted an Avengers fanfic, check it out maybe? Alright, heres what you really care about! :) **

**Harry POV**

"Careful...careful..." Draco muttered as I carefully tipped a bottle of glowing blue liquid over the potion we had been brewing in our dorm bathroom.

"Draco, shut up, I know what I'm doing! You're going to make me mess up if you keep that up!" I hissed, pausing to glare at my brother.

"I can't help it, I don't want to have to start all over again, Pansy nearly got caught by your dad stealing the ingredients for this batch, and Uncle Severus isn't stupid if more ingredients go missing he is going to come knocking on our door!" he grimaced before adding "Or come knocking our door down."

"Would you like do it then?" I snapped, offering him the bottle. Draco's eyes went wide, going from the bottle to me and then back again. I stared back, challenging him with my eyes. When he didn't move I smirked and turned back around. "Thats what I thought. Now hush and let me work!" carefully allowing four drops of the glowing liquid to escape into the potion before screwing the cap back on.

"So assuming you don't mess this up, the potion will be done by tonight right?" Draco pressed, hovering over my shoulder to look at the now green concoction in the cauldron.

"Yes Draco." I said, ignoring the jab at my abilities. "Tonight we will all be able to take the animagus potion- but don't get all excited, it just helps us find our animal so we can start focusing on our transformations."

"How is that not something to be excited about?! I hope I'm something awesome, like Uncle Sev! I mean, how cool would it be to turn into a panther? If I'm something lame like a cat or something I'm going to be soooo mad..."

Shaking my head, I tuned out my ranting brother in favor of re-reading the final instructions of the potion. This potion has taken us nearly a month to finish, and after starting later than we had intended due to our new years resolution. A smile spread across my face. Tonight, we would all finally figure out our spirit animals!

**Severus POV**

"Remus. Its been awhile." I said, looking at my haggard friend who had collapsed in one of my chairs. I had not seen the werewolf since Dumbledore had forced him from his Hogwarts post with the threat of exposing his condition to the ministry.

"It feels longer than it was Severus, believe me." Remus said drily.

"You look positively dreadful." I sneered. I wasn't exaggerating at all. Remus clothes were dirty and torn, his skin a completely different tone then I remember due to the grime and dirt, hair greasy and limp and starting to grey. His face was sunken in, and the bags under his eyes nearly black. Remus was so much thinner than when I last saw him- he truly looked as if he'd been to hell and back.

"Why thank you Severus. Dumbledores people ran me out of most places I tried to go you know. I had a long journey getting to where I could floo here. I'm sick of this Severus." Remus said, eyes flashing gold. I frowned as I leaned forward on my desk, pushing aside my essays I needed to grade.

"Where are you going that you thought it such a big move you needed to tell me? When you left you said you wanted to keep what I knew to a minimum Remus, what changed?" I inquired, worried for my friend though I would not admit so.

"Greybacks pack." Remus answered quietly. I froze, forcing my eyes not to widen.

"You think that wise?" I asked him slowly studying his face.

"I don't have much of a choice, with werewolves is the only place I can be where I won't be run off for being one. It occurred to me that everything I know of my...sire...is what Dumbledore has told me. Maybe the pack isn't so bad, maybe all those Greyback stories are just stories."

"And if they aren't?"

"Guess I'll find out the hard way. You'll fix me up if it ends too badly." Neither of us said anything after that, knowing the chances of him getting away if it ended badly were very slim.

"You could live in my house."

"And give Dumbledore a reason to declare your home unsafe for Harry? I think not Severus."

"You could live with Lucius, he wouldn't mind."

"The Malfoy family is labeled dark for a number of reasons, no need to increase those and give them further trouble."

"The Potters family home."

"That can be traced back to you."

"The Weasleys."

"Honestly Severus, the last thing they need is another mouth to feed."

"You could leave the country."

"And you and I both know that I would never make it out. Grasping at the straws is not a good look on you Severus, you should cease such behavior as soon as possible or you'll be giving out good grades and not detentions." Remus teased, attempting to lighten my mood.

"Remus, its hard to hold up reputations when a friend of yours is casually thinking of walking to their potential death." I forced my mouth into a smirk. "I suppose thats what I get for daring to befriend another gryffindor." 'especially with what happened to the first one' I added silently in my mind.

"Relax Severus. I'll be fine."

"You'll be taking this." I opened my desk drawer, pulling out a simple silver pocket watch and tossing it to the werewolf. "So if you aren't fine its because of your own stupidity...more so than putting yourself in this situation is."

"What is it?" Remus asked as he caught it, flipping it over in his hands.

"A cloaked portkey. Magic cannot be sensed on it, but it's extremely powerful. It is from my spying days, but it was also a gift from my mother, so I trust you'll treat it with care?" I said stiffly, looking away from Remus. "The password is my house elves name followed by my last name. I can't say it or off you go. As I said, very powerful. It will take you to my study, Willow will help you recover from there."

"Severus, I can't take this." Remus protested, attempting to give the watch back.

"You will take it or I will lock you in Lucius's cellar with the excuse that I was testing potions with werewolf blood or hair in them. Or trying to find a cure. Or another believable reason I'm sure I could come up with. If you go to the pack, you will be taking that with you."

"...Alright Severus. I'll send word as soon as I'm able, alright?" Remus said with a sigh, standing up and slipping the watch into his pocket.

"Its rude to leave before having tea. And looking at the time we might as well have sandwhiches as well." I said before he could make it to the fire place. He turned, giving me an odd look before shaking his head with a laugh.

"Fine Severus. I wouldn't want to be rude." He chuckled, walking back over to his chair and sitting down with a smile. "I'll stay for tea, and then I'll be on my way."

**Sorry its so short, I'm still choosing some of the animagus forms. :P **


	15. Don't Mess With Pack

**The only reason I'm updating this during finals is because someone commented on my Avengers fic to update this one, and since I love m Avengers fic and was so happy they took the time to read it, I decided to honor their request! You know who you are!...and I'm too lazy to check the name. **

**Anyway, Remus centric chapter...enjoy! (oh, and to everyone who said something about the watch being silver, werewolves in Harry Potter aren't affected, I looked it up) **

**Remus POV**  
>I'm insane. Severus is right, I've finally lost it. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I looked out into the forest. One more step, and I was officially on pack territory. The scent of the border surrounded me like a warning, every instinct I had was telling me to turn back.<p>

But I can't turn back. What did I have to turn back to? I couldn't allow Severus to help me, not when he had Harry to think about. Werewolves have no place in this world, except for out in the wilderness with their own kind. I'd been run from every town, Dumbledores followers tailing me to make sure that ' the good people of this land know exactly what they are dealing with when you come into town Lupin!', as if the article on my furry little problem hadn't been enough.

What am I even worried about? I know nothing of werewolves that wasn't told to me by Dumbledore or written by wizards. Which also meant that I have no idea what their reaction to a lone wolf, even if my sire is the alpha. Actually, would that make it worse? A wolf that had forsaken the alpha...bollocks.

Whirling around I moved away from the border, running my hands through my hair.

"What are you so nervous about Remus, you're only walking to your death. No big deal. Call yourself a Gryffindor? Lion up and walk to the camp!" I muttered, turning to look at the tree line that was now about twenty feet away.

Maybe I should just wait for a border patrol. Did werewolf packs have those? Of course they did, werewolves are very territorial. Would it be an enormous waste of time to wait for one? Probably. But then I wouldn't be trespassing when they found me, and that would be only help my case wouldn't it?

But- wait, what is that?

Tilting my head up, I took a deep breath. Wolves. Not Greyback's wolves either. These ones smelt different. Was I in another territory? They smelled far off...bloody hell, I don't know enough about wolves to know if I should be worried or not. I should have tried to research more before I came out here, or done something. Ah, but that scent there, that was Greybacks wolves! ...shit, Greybacks wolves.

Moving behind a tree, I stared at the border in apprehension. Should I go towards them? As them to take me to Greyback? Did I really come all this way to cringe behind a tree while opportunity after opportunity passed me by?

A young man with short dark brown hair and tan skin emerged from the trees, wearing only a pair of cargo pants. He was laughing and looking behind him. A nearly identical boy of maybe twelve stumbled out after him giggling.

"Watch yourself pup!" the young man snickered, a large arm going around the boy's waist to steady him. When the boy had straightened himself up the young man moved away, huge smiles covering both of their faces.

"I'm not a pup anymore Devon!" the boy protested, shoving the bigger man who didn't move at all, only laughed before gently shoving the boy back and watching in amusement as he stumbled a few feet away.

"Course you are Jay, as Pat would say 'You're a wee lad yet my boy!'" he ruffled the pouting boys hair. "Oi, don't give me that look, I brought you out here didn't I?"

"This is really the border?"

"Aye, safest one we have of course. Only pack is nearly fifty miles from here-"

My eyes widened. If the only pack that was close to this border was fifty miles out, then why could I smell wolves. Now that I thought about it, the smell was stronger now to. A lot stronger. The young mans head shot up suddenly, eyes widening as he took in the scent of the other wolves. But it was too late.

As soon as the first wolf broke out of the bushes, half transformed my instincts took over. Leaping from my own hiding spot, it took me seconds to head off the first wolf, my suddenly clawed hand connecting hard with the side of his head. He stumbled to the side with a yelp as I landed in front of the two younger wolves with a snarl.

Never had I felt anything like this. It felt like fire was flowing through my veins, like nothing could touch me. Everything was sharper, colors brighter, and I was able to pinpoint every sound. My canines had lengthened, and my fingertips transformed into claws. I hadn't known it was possible to shift at all past the full moon. My magic felt released and stronger than ever, whipping around me wildly. Was this what it truly meant to be a werewolf? I had never felt so...exhilarated.

Wolves, half transformed as I was, emerged from the bushes, growling. But unlike them, the air around me was crackling with magic. I felt a feral grin spread across my face. I have considered myself an adult for many years, but never before have I felt so alive.

I glanced behind me, only to see that 'Devon' had simply shoved 'Jay' behind him, half transformed himself as he looked with wide eyes at myself and the invaders.

"What are you doing?" I growled. "Run!"

At my order his eyes refocused and he straightened up. Sweeping the boy into his arms he bolted, not looking back. I turned back to the wolves that were starting to spread out, obviously planning to overwhelm me.

"More like what are you doing. You smell of humans, yet you defend the Greyback border? Just what chance do you think you have?" sneered a large man with mangy black hair, the wolf he had struck on the head standing next to him, glaring at me heatedly.

"Not just any humans." I said smoothly. My own confidence was surprising to me. Perhaps Severus had finally wore off on me. It took everything I had to push down the smirk that wanted to follow my comment.

"All humans smell the same to us loner." the same wolf snarled.

"Oh do they now?" Thats it Remus, no more hanging around Severus. At all. Ever. "And just how many humans have you met?"

"Enough to know any wolf who resides with them isn't one of us anymore."

"Interesting. Have you met humans who could do this?" flicking my wrist towards the wolf farthest to my left, a flash of blue light shot from my fingers and slammed into his chest. My wandless and wordless magic had always been dodgy at best, but now I felt as if I could easily best Dumbledore himself. Perhaps this was why he truly feared werewolves. With a yelp the wolf fell to the ground motionless. Taking in their shocked expressions, I smirked. "I'll take that as a no."

Even with the advantage of my magic, I was heinously outnumbered. I only took out about six before the first blow landed on me, slicing deep into my upper arm. I howled before dealing a swift blow to the head knocking the offender out. Using magic as much as I could, I continued fighting, having no idea how much time the boys needed to get back to their village, camp, whatever those settlements were called.

When someones claws tore at my left thigh I hissed, stumbling back a few steps and bracing myself on a tree. The remaining eight wolves closed in on me. I let my hand glow blue in warning, glaring at all of them.

"I thought we could just knock you out and be done with it, as dealing with you was not my plan for today...but obviously we cannot let you make it to Greybacks people. You are to much of a threat." how had I not managed to hit the black haired leader?! I glared at the man, my glowing hand distracting them from the hand inching into my pocket to my portkey. Severus would forgive the blood on his carpet.

"What exactly was your plan for today, hmm?" The deep rumbling voice had every werewolf in front of me tensing, while I just turned and looked my left wearily.

A man with a frame the looked nearly half giant that was all muscle and a scar over his right cheek was walking up, followed by about fifteen wolves, the young man Devon directly behind him. His long hair was nearly silver, his eyes a chillingly light blue. His scent hit my nose and my brain supplied a name- Greyback.

"Well Trevor, I'm waiting." Greybacks lips curled up, showing off pearly white perfectly straight teeth.

With a snarl the black haired man tossed his head, backing up a few steps. Greyback smirked.

"Thats what I thought. Attacking our border, hoping to just kill a patrol? Just so I'll come barreling in and kill your uncle? Not very smart. I'm not the type to fall for your simple tricks child. Go home to your pack, and wait in fear- I might be there soon to warn Falling Star of this uprising against him. And nearly killing my pup? That will be brought up as well. Drag your pack back to your lands- or we'll deal with them."

Then he turned towards me, expression softening. I couldn't stop my flinch and he moved towards me, but he didn't stop until he was right next to me. "This will hurt a bit pup, but its better than you trying to walk back to camp." Before I had the chance to open my mouth he had swooped me up into his arms. All of my injuries screamed out in protest and I let out a soft cry before biting my tongue to cut it off.

"Dad, hes actually one of us?" Devon was next to Greyback and I as the alpha turned and walked across the border. "I thought he was just a loner passing through!"

"Remus is your oldest brother." Greyback replied.

"We arent family..." I muttered, confused. Greyback just chuckled.

"In the pack we are pup. You were the second I sired, making you my responsibility. And if your father and Dumbledore hadn't whisked you away to the unknown you would have grown up here, with us. Which leads me to ask...why are you here?" I knew Greyback was looking down at me, but I refused to look up, instead keeping my eyes glued to his shirt.

"I don't know."

"You don't know. You came all this way, defended two of my young pack and my border from a hostile invading force, and you don't know what you're doing here? Must be going through a lot pup."

"Stop calling me that." I snapped.

"Pup" he emphasized the word. "You are barely over thirty years old, yet you'll live to two hundred or so. You are very much a pup." I growled lowly, hating to feel so belittled by this man. "Hush now, we'll get you healed up and then you can tell me what's going on."

I blinked, shaking my head to clear it before actually opening my eyes. Squinting, I looked around Greybacks cabin. I had been a bit surprised when I saw 'camp' was actually a small town of log cabins and buildings, where I had been expecting tents or huts or maybe even just a large cave.

"Remus." Greyback was sitting beside my bed, looking completely relaxed. I looked over at him wearily, still not sure what to think. All my life I had been warned of his bloodthirsty hunger for flesh and death, and while I had been doubting that image of him I never expected him to be so...welcoming. "Tell me what has driven you here. I know you would have never come if you had another choice, with all that the great Albus Dumbledore has told you about your kind-"

"The great Albus Dumbledore is finding it much harder to keep up his mask." I hissed, fists clenching in the blanket that was thrown over me. Greyback raised an eyebrow. "I listened to him, all through school, after my parents died, without question. But he tried to hurt my...Godson of sorts. Put him in an abusive household, then attempted to put him back there by arresting his real Godfather!"

"And did he?" Greyback asked.

"Yes. For a short time he managed it, before Lucius Malfoy got Severus out." I admitted, frowning as I remembered how Dumbledore had betrayed us completely in doing so.

"I see." Greyback made a gesture for me to continue, so I pressed on.

So we left." I took a deep breath, unwilling to stop long enough to analyze why I was telling the stranger that ruined my life when I was six all of this. "But Harry started school this year. I was going to be a teacher, but because I was helping Severus protect Harry he outed me as a werewolf to the wizarding world. So I ran. I mean, Severus is already on the rocks with custody of Harry, one little thing that the ministry finds that they don't like and hes back in Dumbledores care, just like that. How could I let that happen? I moved, going to a small town to get a simple job, where I could floo to see Harry and Severus during holidays...but Dumbledores people followed me, warning people of what I am no matter where I was, telling the muggles I was a convicted killer and wizards that I'm a werewolf. They made life impossible! So...I thought I'd come to the one place where being a werewolf wouldn't be a problem."

"This...Severus, just left you on your own?" Greyback asked, expressionless. Bollocks, what had I done? I shouldn't have said anything.

"Not at all, he was furious I planned to come here when we weren't sure what I would find. Gave me a portkey in case it went very badly, and tried to convince me that he could hide me or that our friends the Malfoys could do it. I didn't want to get anyone in trouble for housing someone like me...so here I am."

"You mean to tell me that you thought you were going to get here and be ripped to pieces, and yet you still defending my land and Devon and Jayden?" Greyback asked, staring at me in disbelief. I met his gaze and didn't answer. After a moment of silence, he stood. "Well, Dumbledore has done many things against my pack before, but this takes the cake. Pups are not to be messed with."

"I'm sorry?" What the hell was he talking about.

"Harry. If he is your pup, which he is by how you talk about him, he is part of your pack, which makes him part of my pack. As well as whoever else you have made your pack with. Pack is not to be messed with. I want a list of names Remus, by tomorrow."

"...What?" I squeaked, unable to process what was happening.

"Tomorrow. We still have much to talk about, but you need to rest, you've lost a lot of blood. Oh, and Callie says that if you step a foot out of that bed she'll strap you to it. I'd listen if I were you, woman is far scarier than I ever hope to be..." the alpha muttered as he left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

For a few seconds, I just stared dumbly at the door.

"Severus is never going to believe this."

**YAY ANOTHER CHAPTER! WEREWOLVES RULE!**


	16. Migraines Shouldn't Have Meaning

**I'm a disgusting person, I know. Tons of people have still been reviewing and I've just been like I don't waaaaaaant toooooooo. But one of my friends (We'll call her the joker) told me to get my ass in gear...so here we go. :) **

**Severus POV**

My eyes flicked to the fireplace again, and the back to the stack of essays I was grading. With a growl, I failed the paper, shoving it to the side. Idiotic children couldn't even pick up a book, why should I grade leniently?!

Remus had not checked in yet. Two days, he had not used the portkey, had not floo called me, nothing. He could have been accepted into the pack, or they could have killed him before he even had time to react.

Dumbledore kept mentioning Remus's disappearance at every meal, looking to pry something out of me. As the days passed my assumptions grew worse and worse, my mask of irritation with Albus's questioning become less and less forced as worry clawed at my stomach.

Harry and his friends were up to something, that much I knew, but I could not find the energy within myself to question them. Every moment I had out of meals and classes was spent in my quarters, waiting for a floo call or an owl. Neither had come.

"Blasted werewolf."

"How rude Severus. I thought we were past this." I whirled around, my ink pot clambering to the floor and spilling the blood red ink all over my carpet. But there was no face in the fire. "I'm injured Severus, I can't put my face in the fire. You can hear me though, correct?"

"Yes Mutt, I can hear you. Be thankful I cannot see your miserable hide, or I would be cursing you into next year, then back to infanthood!"

**Remus POV**

I chuckled at Severus's threat, while Greyback- no, Fenrir- looked at the fire in surprise. Severus continued without pause.

"Three days, and I hear nothing from you! No owl, no floo call, you did not use the portkey. What was I to think? Albus, constantly commenting on your disappearance, you know, part of me starting to assume that his people had gotten to you before you made it anywhere near the bloody werewolves! Remus Lupin, I am going to END YOU."

"Remus, I thought you said this call was to a trusted friend." Fenrir said gruffly, eyeing the fire place in suspicion.

"Lupin, is that who I think it is?"

"If you think its Fenrir Greyback then-"

"Thats it. I'm coming through. You have six seconds to get out of my way."

Six was an overestimate, as Severus came stalking out of the fire place nearly instantly. Wand out, famous scowl in place, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared down his nose at me.

"Explain." Fenrir growled at his tone, but Severus didn't even look over. I waved off the Alpha werewolf.

"When I arrived at the border, a rival pack was trying to kill a border patrol to start a war. The patrol was two boys, both young. Luckily, none of the werewolves had ever met a wizard, and I was injured making sure none made it across the border while the boys ran for the pack. Unsurprisingly, everything we know about the pack is wrong." my gaze flicked to Fenrir, and Severus followed, looking over the tense werewolf. Then the black haired man's shoulders dropped, and he sighed, uncrossing his arms.

"Of course the border was being raided the day you came to the pack. Because when are situations not as stressful as possible for us?" Severus moved towards my side, wand still in hand. "What wounds have you sustained? Need they further treatment?"

"Well, I wouldn't say no to a pain potion-" before I had finished speaking, a small bottle had been thrust into my hand. I blinked at it in shock, before raising an eyebrow at Severus.

"Have you met my son and his hologians? Of course I carry pain potions on hand. It would be ridiculous not to at this point." the potions master sniffed, looking at me in annoyance. I grinned before flicking off the cork with my thumb and tossing the disgusting mixture back, proceeding to level a glare at the smirking Severus.

"I know you make these taste far better than that Master Snape." I growled.

"As I said, the children are often getting hurt." was his only response.

"What was that?" Fenrir demanded. "Your scent changed, very drastically, before going back to normal. I don't like that."

"The magical properties of the pain tonic causes a fluctuation of-"

"It was a healing potion, you just smelled that magic that makes it work. I'm fine Fenrir." I cut in, unwilling to allow Severus to dive into explaining the art of his craft, a rant at the end of which I'm sure he would have insulted the alpha werewolf in front of us. Fenrir gave a sharp nod at my answer, still looking at Severus through narrowed eyes. Apparently I didn't try hard enough to hide my smile at that, because soon my friends sharp tongue was targeting me once again.

"Refrain from relaxing just yet Remus; there is still much we have to speak of."

Wonderful.

**Harry POV**

"Marcus should be here by now." Balise muttered, narrowed eyes looking down each end of the corridor while he and Draco stood protectively in front of Pansy and I. Theo stood next to Pansy, clutching his books tightly to his chest. "Perhaps we should have gone with Nev and Monie when Percy walked by for them."

A sinking feeling in my stomach told me that Marcus wasn't just late. Something had happened, but moving away from the classroom was just too much of a risk. Even if the attitude towards Slytherins had improved drastically, nowhere was safe. My eyes widened as realization hit me.

"Pansy or Theo. They are the only ones small enough." I hissed, my friends all twitching a bit at the sudden noise. Draco turned back and raised an eyebrow, while Theo's eyes widened as mine just had.

"Pansy should go. If the group has to run for it, my stuff added on to anyone else would not end well." Theo whispered apologetically. The other threes eyes widened as what I meant finally got through to them, and then everyone looked at Pansy, whose expression went from shocked to determined.

"Who am I looking for?" she asked while handing her bag to Blaise. The tallest of our group took it, slinging it over his shoulder to rest on top of his own book bag.

"Anyone we trust. I have a very bad feeling, leaving this corridor isn't safe and Binns has already melted through some wall so we can't just go back into the classroom." I replied. "The first person you see that we trust, but-"

"Don't let them see me shift; I'm not stupid Harry." Pansy growled before hunching her shoulders.

Slowly black hair spread over her entire body as she shrunk, smaller and smaller as her hands and feet curled into paws and a long tail sprouted from the end of her spine. The second the transformation was over the small black cat was bounding down the corridor, headed in the direction of the Great Hall.

"Shes gotten very good at that. Wish my transformation was that flawless." Blaise commented. I grinned while Theo patted the Italians arm.

"Don't worry Blaise, you and Neville will get there. Draco still glitches sometimes, and so do I."

"Shhh! Did you guys hear that?" Draco snapped, eyes glancing towards us with a soft glare before turning back down the opposite end of the hallway that Pansy ran down. Instantly our group fell silent and backed against the wall, straining our ears to hear whatever sounds alarmed Draco.

Footstep were getting louder and louder, making all four of us tense as we waiting for whomever it was to emerge. The steps were fast and heavy, even. So either an upper year or a Professor.

But whoever it was, as they rounded the corner, a sharp pain in my forehead made me gasp, my eyes squeezing shut and I put my head in my hands and tried to control the pain. I felt Theo's arm go around me, but the searing pain in my head kept me from looking up. I sagged against my friend, trying and failing to stand back up.

"Professor Quirrell." I hazely heard Draco greet.

"Mr. M-m-m-malfoy. Are y-y-y-ou all a-l-l-lright?" I heard Theo hiss something before Blaise loudly said "We're fine sir, just waiting for a couple friends before going down to lunch. We'll see you in defense tomorrow?"

"O-o-o-of course." as the man's foot falls faded, so did the pain in my head until it was gone completely. I blinked and looked up, seeing three concerned faces the second I opened my eyes.

"What was that Harry? The second he showed up you just collapsed against me!" Theo whispered yelled. "Are you ok?"

"My...scar hurt..." I muttered, confused. Draco's expression darkened.

"You need to tell your dad about that, as soon as you can. Curse scars aren't simple things Harry, this could be something very bad." Weakly, I managed a glare at Draco. He wasn't just like my older brother because of how protective he was of me, he was always with Dad and I and he had been in all of the lessons; he knew that I knew what to do about my curse scar. Why wouldn't I tell Dad? We'd been keeping too many secrets from Dad lately anyway.

"Harry? Draco?" all four of us whirled around to face the corridor where Pansy had gone for help, and were slightly surprised to see Oliver Wood standing there. "Oh, Theo and Blaise are here as well. Just as well, Pansy says to bring all of you to the hospital wing."

"What for?" Draco demanded.

"Marcus." Oliver said grimly.

**Remus POV**

"I know I should have contacted you sooner Severus, but I just couldn't." I said quietly, putting my hand on the man's forearm. "But something is finally working out. Dumbledore wouldn't dare follow me here, and even if he did, do you know how many werewolves are here? And how many of those were's are wizards and witches? Here, I'm safe, and you're not put in danger because you're protecting me."

"We both know I'm a selfish man Remus. I'm upset because now I have one less pair of eyes to keep watch of Dumbledore, and-"

"And one more safe place to flee with the children if everything goes south. Severus, Dumbledore is dangerous, and the peoples trust in him makes him lethal. Having another spot he cannot get to for Harry to come to is something you need."

"Are you worried your son won't be safe among us?" Fenrir growled at Severus, eyes flashing. I opened my mouth to protest, but stopped when Severus held up a hand to stop me. The potions master turned towards the alpha- my alpha I suppose now- and spoke with that infuriatingly even tone of his.

"My son, personally, would absolutely love to live among werewolves. And he would be perfectly safe from everything but himself and his mischievous plethora of family and friends as per usual. In fact, he might be safer here, seeing as Dumbledore would never think to look here, not after all of those horror stories hes spread about the bloodthirsty 'Greyback'. No, my worry is simply paranoia. Paranoia has kept my son alive all these years, and me for even longer. I cannot allow myself to think of anywhere as perfectly safe, less I let my guard down. Are you still offended Alpha Greyback?"

"Sounds exhausting." Fenrir muttered, settling back into his chair.

"One day life will not be like this. I eagerly await that day." was the only agreement Severus offered. "I must be getting back now. Who knows what has happened in my absence..."

**OMG AN UPDATE! IT FINALLY HAPPENED! :P sorry guys. **


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